Text of AL SB 5 (2022)

1 SB5 2 214378-1 3 By Senator Shelnutt 4 RFD: Healthcare 5 First Read: 11-JAN-22 6 PFD: 06/10/2021 Page 0 1 214378-1:n:06/01/2021:AHP*/cr LSA2021-1398 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 SYNOPSIS: This bill would prohibit the performance of 9 a medical procedure or the prescription or issuance 10 of medication, upon or to a minor child, that is 11 intended to alter the appearance of the minor 12 child's gender or delay puberty, with certain 13 exceptions. 14 This bill would provide for the disclosure 15 of certain information concerning students to 16 parents by schools. 17 This bill would also establish criminal 18 penalties for violations. 19 Amendment 621 of the Constitution of Alabama 20 of 1901, now appearing as Section 111.05 of the 21 Official Recompilation of the Constitution of 22 Alabama of 1901, as amended, prohibits a general 23 law whose purpose or effect would be to require a 24 new or increased expenditure of local funds from 25 becoming effective with regard to a local 26 governmental entity without enactment by a 2/3 vote 27 unless: it comes within one of a number of Page 1 1 specified exceptions; it is approved by the 2 affected entity; or the Legislature appropriates 3 funds, or provides a local source of revenue, to 4 the entity for the purpose. 5 The purpose or effect of this bill would be 6 to require a new or increased expenditure of local 7 funds within the meaning of the amendment. However, 8 the bill does not require approval of a local 9 governmental entity or enactment by a 2/3 vote to 10 become effective because it comes within one of the 11 specified exceptions contained in the amendment. 12 13 A BILL 14 TO BE ENTITLED 15 AN ACT 16 17 Relating to public health; to prohibit the 18 performance of a medical procedure or the prescription or 19 issuance of medication, upon or to a minor child, that is 20 intended to alter the minor child's gender or delay puberty; 21 to provide for exceptions; to provide for disclosure of 22 certain information concerning students to parents by schools; 23 and to establish criminal penalties for violations; and in 24 connection therewith would have as its purpose or effect the 25 requirement of a new or increased expenditure of local funds 26 within the meaning of Amendment 621 of the Constitution of 27 Alabama of 1901, now appearing as Section 111.05 of the Page 2 1 Official Recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, 2 as amended. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA: 4 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited 5 as the Alabama Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act 6 (V-CAP). 7 Section 2. The Legislature finds as follows: 8 (1) The long-term effects and safety of the 9 administration of puberty blocking medications and cross-sex 10 hormones to gender incongruent children have not been 11 rigorously studied. Absent rigorous studies showing their 12 long-term safety and positive benefits, their continued 13 administration to children constitutes dangerous and 14 uncontrolled human medical experimentation that may result in 15 grave and irreversible consequences to their physical and 16 mental health. 17 (2) Studies have shown that a substantial majority 18 of pre-pubescent children who claim a gender identity 19 different from their biological sex will ultimately identify 20 with their biological sex by young adulthood or sooner when 21 supported through their natural puberty. There is no 22 psychological or medical test that can differentiate between 23 the majority of children who will desist from their gender 24 incongruence and the minority who will not. Research shows 25 that the administration of puberty blocking medications or 26 cross-sex hormones forecloses the possibility of a natural 27 recovery from this condition. Page 3 1 (3) There are no rigorous studies that show that 2 gender changing therapies performed on children, including the 3 administration of puberty blocking medications, the 4 administration of opposite sex hormones, or surgeries intended 5 to approximate the appearance of the opposite sex have any 6 long-term beneficial effect, including a reduction in suicide 7 risk. To the contrary, such interventions carry elevated risks 8 for sterility, loss of sexual function, bone fractures, 9 thromboembolic and cardiovascular disease, malignancy, and may 10 even contribute to mental illness and suicide. 11 (4) The continued performing of these therapies upon 12 children constitutes a public health risk. 13 (5) The police power of the state is held to embrace 14 reasonable regulations to protect the public health. That 15 authority over children is broader than that over adults. 16 Jacobson v. Massachusetts, 197 U.S. 11 (1905); Prince v. 17 Massachusetts, 321 U.S. 158 (1944). 18 Section 3. For the purposes of this act, the 19 following terms shall have the following meanings: 20 (1) MINOR. The same meaning as in Section 43-8-1, 21 Code of Alabama 1975. 22 (2) PERSON. Includes any of the following: 23 a. Any individual. 24 b. Any agent, employee, official, or contractor of 25 any legal entity. Page 4 1 c. Any agent, employee, official, or contractor of a 2 school district or the state or any of its political 3 subdivisions or agencies. 4 (3) SEX. The biological state of being male or 5 female, based on the individual's sex organs, chromosomes, and 6 endogenous hormone profiles. 7 Section 4. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), 8 no person shall engage in or cause any of the practices in 9 this subsection to be performed upon a minor if the practice 10 is performed for the purpose of attempting to alter the 11 appearance of, or affirm the minor's perception of, his or her 12 gender or sex, if that perception is inconsistent with the 13 minor's biological sex as defined in this act: 14 (1) Prescribing, dispensing, administering, or 15 otherwise supplying puberty blocking medication to stop or 16 delay normal puberty. 17 (2) Prescribing, dispensing, administering, or 18 otherwise supplying supraphysiologic doses of testosterone or 19 other androgens to females. 20 (3) Prescribing, dispensing, administering, or 21 otherwise supplying supraphysiologic doses of estrogen to 22 males. 23 (4) Performing surgeries that sterilize, including 24 castration, vasectomy, hysterectomy, oophorectomy, 25 orchiectomy, and penectomy. 26 (5) Performing surgeries that artificially construct 27 tissue with the appearance of genitalia that differs from the Page 5 1 individual's biological sex, including metoidioplasty, 2 phalloplasty, and vaginoplasty. 3 (6) Removing any healthy or non-diseased body part 4 or tissue. 5 (b) Subsection (a) does not apply to a procedure 6 undertaken to treat a minor born with a medically verifiable 7 disorder of sex development, including either of the 8 following: 9 (1) An individual born with external biological sex 10 characteristics that are irresolvably ambiguous, including an 11 individual born with 46 XX chromosomes with virilization, 46 12 XY chromosomes with under virilization, or having both ovarian 13 and testicular tissue. 14 (2) An individual whom a physician has otherwise 15 diagnosed with a disorder of sexual development, in which the 16 physician has determined through genetic or biochemical 17 testing that the person does not have normal sex chromosome 18 structure, sex steroid hormone production, or sex steroid 19 hormone action for a male or female. 20 (c) A violation of this section is a Class C felony. 21 Section 5. No nurse, counselor, teacher, principal, 22 or other administrative official at a public or private school 23 attended by a minor shall do either of the following: 24 (1) Encourage or coerce a minor to withhold from the 25 minor's parent or legal guardian the fact that the minor's 26 perception of his or her gender or sex is inconsistent with 27 the minor's sex. Page 6 1 (2) Withhold from a minor's parent or legal guardian 2 information related to a minor's perception that his or her 3 gender or sex is inconsistent with his or her sex. 4 Section 6. Except as provided for in Section 4, 5 nothing in this act shall be construed as limiting or 6 preventing psychologists or psychological technicians from 7 rendering the services for which they are qualified by 8 training or experience involving the application of recognized 9 principles, methods, and procedures of the science and 10 profession of psychology. 11 Section 7. Nothing in this section shall be 12 construed to establish a new or separate standard of care for 13 hospitals or physicians and their patients or otherwise 14 modify, amend, or supersede any provision of the Alabama 15 Medical Liability Act of 1987 or the Alabama Medical Liability 16 Act of 1996, or any amendment or judicial interpretation of 17 either act. 18 Section 8. If any part, section, or subsection of 19 this act or the application thereof to any person or 20 circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect 21 parts, sections, subsections, or applications of this act that 22 can be given effect without the invalid part, section, 23 subsection, or application. 24 Section 9. Although this bill would have as its 25 purpose or effect the requirement of a new or increased 26 expenditure of local funds, the bill is excluded from further 27 requirements and application under Amendment 621, now Page 7 1 appearing as Section 111.05 of the Official Recompilation of 2 the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended, because the 3 bill defines a new crime or amends the definition of an 4 existing crime. 5 Section 10. This act shall become effective 30 days 6 following its passage and approval by the Governor, or its 7 otherwise becoming law. Page 8