You may have heard that Alabama has banned medical providers from providing gender-affirming care for people under the age of 19. We are currently serving folks 18 and older in Alabama. We are monitoring the shifting conditions in Alabama and other states and will provide updates as the situation unfolds.
You may be worried about your ability to access care, or what might happen with additional laws across the country. At Plume, we are here to be a resource to you and will continue to work to increase access to gender-affirming care for all trans people in the United States.
About the Alabama Laws Impacting Trans Youth
On April 8, 2022, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed into law a bill that makes it a felony to provide gender-affirming medical treatment to transgender youth under the age of 19. SB 184 “The Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act” went into effect on May 8, 2022. While this bill sounds like it was designed to protect children, it actually harms young people by making it a felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, for a medical provider to give puberty blockers or hormones to aid in the gender transition of anyone under age 19. This law also prohibits gender transition surgeries, even though those are not performed on minors in Alabama.
At the same time, the Republican-led Alabama legislature passed HB 322, which bans transgender students from using bathrooms or locker rooms that align with their identity; and also prohibits teachers from discussing LGBTQ content in classrooms. Courtney Roark, the Alabama policy & movement building director for the youth-led reproductive rights nonprofit URGE, said in a statement to the press:
“In yet another attack on our bodies, our autonomy, and our desire to live happy and healthy lives, Alabama politicians have passed and signed into law a bill that would criminalize doctors, principals, teachers, school counselors, and nurses for providing gender-affirming care and support to trans and nonbinary youth. Trans and nonbinary youth in our state and across the country already face extraordinary barriers to accessing the liberated and joyous lives they deserve.”
Access to gender-affirming healthcare is a human right. As transgender people, our rights and our dignity are under increasing attack by policymakers. These anti-trans laws harm transgender children and other LGBTQ people by limiting their access to life-saving care. They also create a dangerous legal precedent for restricting or eliminating transgender people’s rights. Similar measures have been passed in other states, but the Alabama law is the first to threaten doctors with criminal penalties. We are keeping a close eye on legislation across the country and will update our patients if any jeopardize their care.
The Importance of Gender-Affirming Care
Every major medical organization agrees that gender-affirming care is evidence-based and lifesaving and that preventing trans youth from accessing medical care can have devastating consequences. In January, the American Academy of Pediatrics affirmed the importance of gender-affirming care.
“It is critically important for every child to have access to quality, comprehensive and evidence-based care—transgender and gender-diverse youth are no exception,” said AAP Immediate Past President Lee Savio Beers, M.D., FAAP. “As pediatricians, we will continue to speak up and advocate for our patients. We also want transgender and gender-diverse youth to know that not only do we care for them, we care about them, we value them and we will do all we can to ensure they have access to the care they need and deserve.”
To learn more about gender-affirming care, read our blog.
What is Plume doing to help people in Alabama?
Plume stands with the transgender community and our patients in the state of Alabama. We challenge these hateful, dehumanizing laws and support all transgender people’s basic human right to life-sustaining, expert medical care. We are committed to continuing to provide our members with the affirming and accessible healthcare they deserve. Plume is actively working to support members who are affected by transphobic legislation that tries to limit your healthcare. (If you need support or have questions, your trans-led care team is available to help you—just send a message through our secure app.)
This weekend, our care team messaged Plume members in Alabama aged 19 and older to assure them that they will not be impacted by this upcoming legislation. Any Plume patient in Alabama over the age of 18 will continue to receive the gender-affirming care they need from us. People who are currently 18 and thus impacted by the law, were contacted directly. Plume is working to provide support to these folks during this difficult time. (At this time, we can’t accept new patients under the age of 19.) [UPDATE: A federal judge put a temporary block on the portion of Alabama’s law impacting GAHT for trans people under the age of 19. We are staying in touch with patients and these changing laws and are currently serving 18 year olds.]
We are also working at the national level on policies to protect and affirm the rights of trans people to access gender-affirming care.
What can I do to support trans people in Alabama?
The transgender community has always helped one another in challenging times. We take care of us. As a trans-led healthcare provider—created for trans people, by trans people—Plume knows how important it is to show up for our community. Gender-affirming healthcare is not only life-improving, but life-extending for us. Receiving affirming care improves mental health, reduces suicide rates, and creates a sense of joy that everyone deserves to experience.
Here are some ways to support transgender people in Alabama:
- Connect with a trans-led mutual aid group in Alabama. People in Alabama may be eligible for scholarships from an emergency fund, such as Point of Pride or Trans Lifeline. (Here’s a helpful list of places that give money to trans folks in need.)
- If you live in Alabama, please contact your elected officials and let them know that transphobic laws must be repealed now. If you live out of state, contact your representatives to let them know how important gender-affirming care is and your support of trans people.
- Donate to the ACLU or give directly to transgender people or LGBTQ+ organizations.
- Let folks know that Plume’s patients aged 19 and older will not experience a gap in service. From gender-affirming hormones to letters of support for name change, we will continue to provide excellent, expert medical care.
Transgender people are cherished and valuable community members. We deserve to be protected. We deserve to be treated with the same respect and dignity as any other person. We deserve our basic human rights—including access to gender-affirming healthcare. Transphobic laws are cruel, inhumane, and fundamentally immoral. Plume stands with our community in standing up to hatred everywhere. If you are struggling or scared, you are not alone. Reach out to your provider if you need help, or contact the Trans Lifeline hotline to speak with someone and connect with more resources.
