Eknes-Tucker v. Governor of Alabama
United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
80 F.4th 1205 (2023)
- Written by Jamie Milne, JD
Facts
Alabama’s Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act (act) criminalized prescribing or administering puberty-blocking medications or cross-sex hormone treatments (transitioning medications) to a minor to change the minor’s appearance or affirm the minor’s identification with a gender or sex different from biological gender and sex. The act also criminalized participation in obtaining such medications for minors, meaning that parents could not lawfully obtain such treatment for their children. A group of transgender minors, their parents, and others (plaintiffs) sued Alabama, via its governor (defendant), alleging that the act was unconstitutional because it violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause and Equal Protection Clause. The district court concluded that the right to treat one’s children with transitioning medications, subject to accepted medical standards, was a fundamental, substantive right protected by the Due Process Clause. Because laws restricting such fundamental rights are constitutional only if they satisfy strict scrutiny, the district court issued a preliminary injunction that prevented the act’s enforcement while trial was pending. Alabama appealed the injunction.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Lagoa, J.)
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