A federal judge on Saturday blocked Alabama authorities from enforcing a state government ban on providing gender-affirming treatments to people under the age of 19, a law that just took effect less than a week ago, the Washington Post reports.
The law would have assessed a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $15,000 for anyone convicted of providing such treatment. However, Judge Liles Burke, a Trump appointee, ruled that cessation of treatment would would cause “severe physical and/or psychological harm” to Alabama’s trans youths as well as be an undue burden on the families. Burke also asserted such a ban likely violates the children’s Constitutional rights.
In his opinion, Burke said that parents have “a fundamental right to direct the medical care of their children subject to accepted medical standards” and that “discrimination based on gender-nonconformity equates to sex discrimination.”