Axios reported that Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has asked a federal court to lift the block on the state’s ban on gender-affirming health care policies. In its decision to overturn the landmark 1973 decision that legalized abortion, the Court’s conservative majority argued that abortion was not a fundamental right in the constitution and is not “deeply rooted in the history and tradition of this nation.” Marshall uses the same legal rationale to argue against gender-affirming care, Axios reported. The AP reported that Marshall’s office filed a briefing Monday that argued that gender-affirming care was also not “deeply rooted in our history or traditions” and therefore could be banned. “Just as parental relationship does not unlock a Due Process right that allows parents to obtain medical marijuana or abortions for their children, it does not unlock a right to transitional therapies,” the brief said. “The Constitution reserves to the state — not to the medical interest group courts — the power to determine that these sterilization procedures are too dangerous for minors.” In April, Alabama passed SB 184, an anti-transgender bill that criminalized doctors who provide gender-affirming care to children. In May, a judge issued an injunction to challenge the law, Axios reported. The law would make providing gender-affirming medical care a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $15,000 fine.
