Judge Blocks Alabama Law Banning Gender-Affirming Drugs For Minors

MONTGOMERY, AL — A federal judge this week blocked part of an Alabama law that made it a felony for doctors to provide gender-affirming care to transgender youth, according to a report.

In an opinion issued Friday, U.S. District Judge Liles Burke temporarily blocked the portion of the controversial law that prohibited minors from receiving nonsurgical care like puberty blockers and hormones. In the opinion, Burke said parents "have a fundamental right to direct the medical care of their children."

Burke did, however, leave other portions of the law in effect, including a ban on gender-affirming surgery for minors.

Alabama recently became the third state in the nation to pass restrictions on gender-affirming care for transgender youth. The state followed Arkansas and Tennesee; however, it was the first state to add felony penalties.

Read more via NBC News