According to CBS News, “Senators voted 23-4 to approve the measure, dubbed the Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act, sponsored by Republican Senator Shay Shelnutt. The bill now heads to the state House of Representatives, which has already approved a companion bill.

View Comments (2)

The two bills would make it a felony for medical professionals to treat transgender minors under the age of 19 with gender-affirming care. Violators could face up to 10 years in prison or a $15,000 fine.

The bill also requires school staff in the state to disclose to parents that “a minor’s perception that his or her gender is inconsistent with his or her sex.” Essentially, teachers would be required to “out” transgender students to their guardians — regardless of whether they are ready to do so.  . . .

Parents, members of the transgender communities and medical experts opposed to the bills say it is dangerous, and that lawmakers do not understand the already difficult process to receive gender-affirming care.

The bills run “counter to medical science, prevailing standards of treatment for transgender youth, and basic human dignity,” the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama said in a statement.

During Tuesday’s debate, Shelnutt said that he has never spoken to a transgender youth before, adding that he did not know that such treatments were being done in the state when he introduced the bill last year, AP reports.

The Alabama ACLU, along with the Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund, AIDS Alabama and several other groups, organized in-person and visual protests against the bills on Tuesday.  . . .

The House is also currently considering House Bill 391, which would ban trans youth from playing on school sports teams that align with their gender identity.

“This legislation will endanger young trans lives in Alabama. It contradicts the consensus of major medical associations and the overwhelming evidence that demonstrates how affirming transgender and nonbinary youth in their identities reduces suicide risk and improves health,” Sam Brinton, VP of Advocacy and Government Affairs at the LGBTQ organization The Trevor Project, said in a statement Wednesday.

“There’s absolutely no ‘compassion’ in threatening doctors with imprisonment for providing trans youth with the best-practice care they need to survive and thrive,” they added. “And there’s no ‘fairness’ in sidelining a group of young people who already face significantly increased risk for rejection, bullying, and suicide.” . . .

Arkansas Legislature Passes Bill to Ban Abortions, Save 3,000 Babies Every Year

The Arkansas state legislature gave its final approval today to a bill that would ban abortions and save as many as 3,000 babies every year. The House voted 75-18 for the pro-life measure.

The Arkansas Unborn Child Protection Act (Senate Bill 6) would ban all abortions in the state. The only exceptions would be if the mother’s life or health are at risk. Abortionists who violate the ban would face up to 10 years in prison. Women would not be punished.

“It’s time for this decision to be overturned in the Supreme Court,” Republican Rep. Mary Bentley, a sponsor of the measure, told House members. . . .

Nearly 3,000 unborn babies are aborted in Arkansas every year, according to state health statistics. However, even if the bill passes, it likely will be challenged and blocked in court.

State Sen. Jason Rapert, R-Conway, the lead sponsor of the bill, said the legal challenge is part of the point, and he hopes it will prompt the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade. But some pro-life leaders expressed concerns about the possibility of a legal challenge backfiring, saying the courts could instead decide to solidify the so-called “right” to abort an unborn baby, according to the report.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a pro-life Republican, also expressed reservations about the legislation during a recent press conference, KATV reports.

“I’ve always historically signed every pro-life bill that’s come to my desk, this one has caused some pause because it is a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade,” he said. “It does not include a rape and incest as exceptions, but I want to look that over, look at the prospects of it and then make a decision …”

Other pro-life bills also are moving through the Arkansas legislature.  . . .

Though the high court currently has a conservative majority, Chief Justice John Roberts, who was nominated by a Republican president, has sided with the liberal justices on a number of occasions.

In 1973, the Supreme Court took away the states’ ability to protect unborn babies from abortion under Roe v. Wade, and instead forced states to legalize abortion on demand. Roe made the United States one of only seven countries in the world that allows elective abortions after 20 weeks.

Were you encouraged by this article? Share it with a friend!

(Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)