MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama Senate has passed a bill that would ban gender therapies such as prescription hormones or gender confirmation surgery for minors.
The legislation would make it a felony for medical providers to prescribe puberty-blockers or hormones to anyone under age 19, or perform gender confirmation surgery on them. It passed 22-3 and now heads to the House of Representatives.
The bill's sponsor is Trussville Republican Sen. Shay Shelnutt. Shelnutt said Thursday that children shouldn't be given “experimental” medications or procedures that could have permanent effects.
Mobile Democratic Sen. Vivian Davis Figures questioned whether lawmakers should restrict healthcare decisions made between parents and children.
