MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP)-Harley Walker, 15, ninth grade, spends her time after school like many girls her age: doing homework, listening to Taylor Swift, collecting notes, and meeting friends.
But this year, his spring break also included an attempt to encourage members of the State House and Senate to repeal legislation banning drugs that promote sex for transgender children under 19 years old. This proved unsuccessful. On Thursday, Alabama lawmakers passed the measure and Governor Kay Ivy signed into law Friday, meaning Harley will no longer be able to take testosterone -blocking drugs.
“Honestly, I’m a little scared right now,” he said Thursday after learning the bill has passed. “But we will continue to fight, no matter what happens.”
Harley said he hopes the court will block the bill.
Alabama is a legislator in several Republican -controlled states that has filed bills not only to block medical care, but also ban transgender children from using school restrooms and playing on inappropriate sports teams. for them. gender at birth. The Alabama Medication Bill is one of the biggest: it puts doctors in prison for up to 10 years for prescribing explicit sexual blockers or hormone therapy for children under 19 years old.
“On an unusually brutal and cowardly day, the Alabama legislature passed the most anti-transgender legislative package in history,” said Catherine Oakley, the state legislature and senior adviser on the human rights campaign, who supports the national advocate of LGBTQ. .
Conservative lawmakers say measures are needed to protect the rights of children and parents.
“We control all sorts of things that are harmful to minors – alcohol, smoking, evaporation, tattoos – because their minds aren’t ready to make a decision that could affect them in the long run,” he said. . By Wes Allen. Sponsor of the Alabama Legislature House version. Allen cited testimony at the public hearing from a woman who said she regretted taking hormone therapy to try to be a man.
“With these powerful drugs having long -term ill effects on their bodies, we just want to stop it … give them a chance to thrive and grow,” Allen said.
Measures related to trans youth have provoked a rapid response from medical experts. The administration of Democratic President Joe Biden, United States Department of Justice and trans youth families. Last month, the Justice Department sent a letter to the Attorney General of all 50 states warning them that blocking gender support for transgender and non-binary youth could be a violation of federal constitutional protections.
“My son is not a political weapon. “It’s not a fair fight for vulnerable children,” said Vanessa Finney Tate, mother of a 13-year-old trans boy in Birmingham, Alabama, after testifying in a public legislature on a bill banning to students who use the bathroom. Suitable for their gender.
Harley’s father, Jeff Walker, said many Alabama lawmakers who have advocated banning medical care that promote sex recently said, “It’s your body and your choice” regarding corovirus vaccinations. . He said the family is now trying to find another state where they can continue to seek medical help from Harley.
“We just don’t want people to interfere with our medical care,” he said.
Medical groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, have publicly opposed attempts to ban gender support.
“Gender -based care benefits the health and psychological well -being of young transgender and heterosexuals,” the Endocrine Society said in a statement. “When an individual’s gender identity is not respected and there is no access to medical care, it can lead to high levels of psychological problems and increase the risk of suicide or other self -harm.”
The organization states that only reversible pubertal blockers are recommended for young adults, while adults may qualify for hormone therapy.
Harley is taking medications – which prevent men from going through puberty – only after years of consulting with a team of doctors. He said it was “strange” to see lawmakers with medical experience calling his medications “child abuse” when six doctors agreed he should take them.
Angus, a 16-year-old trans teenager who asked not to use his last name because of bullying in his hometown of northern Alabama, said he knew during adolescence that the mirror reflects “a body that I don’t .. “
After talking to his mother, he slowly began to test the water: to dress the man, to change his name. Only after years of talking to a group of doctors was she able to take medications to stop her menstruation recently. The next step he wants to start is a small dose of testosterone.
“I waited seven years to finally be a man, a man I always knew I was,” Angus said.
He said the bills that prevent such treatment are harmful and do not protect trans youth.
“Oh, parents are abusing their children, giving them the right to move,” he said. “Honestly, more violence against children will not be released if they come out. What these bills actually do is put the lives of trans youth at risk as this suicide rate rises sharply. And many families will lose children ».
Similar prohibitions have been extended to other states.
In the state of Texas, Republican Governor Greg Abbott ordered the State Children’s Welfare Agency to investigate reports of child care that are not proof of sex. and Arkansas law prohibits sex -proof drugs. However, this law was blocked by the court.
In many red states, trans youth are allegedly attacked, angry, betrayed and intimidated by a wave of laws directed against them.
“It’s like kicking back,” Harley said. “I have lived in this situation my whole life. To simply tell them, “Well, you know what, this is an is an very popular on my side, so I’m going to raise it and support it, because it will help me win my election.”
Source: Huffpost
