Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Two lawsuits filed against the State of Alabama over the Alabama’s Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act have been voluntarily dismissed.

Rep. Wes Allen, R-Troy, helped shepherded the Senate bill through the House after sponsoring similar legislation in the House earlier in the session. The bill was passed by the Senate and House and signed into law by Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on April 8.

The law makes it a felony for physicians to prescribe hormone-altering medications or puberty blockers, and perform gender altering surgeries on minors.

“Alabama’s law was challenged almost immediately by a fleet of activist groups that collectively control billions of dollars,” Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said. “The SPLC, GLAD, NCLR, and Human Rights Campaign, along with law firms King & Spalding and Lightfoot, Franklin & White filed one suit. The ACLU, Lambda Legal, Transgender Law Center, and Cooley LLP launched another, arguing that immediate relief was needed for their clients before the law takes effect next month.”

The Walker and Ladinsky lawsuits were voluntarily dismissed on April 14. Lawyers said the lawsuits would be re-filed at a later date.

Allen said the bill was constitutional and the plaintiffs were searching for a favorable judge.

“I have said from the beginning that this was a frivolous lawsuit and the fact that the plaintiffs dropped the case so soon after filing it proves that I was correct about their motives,” Allen said. “This bill was legally passed by the Alabama House and Senate and signed into law by the Governor. It is Constitutional and the plaintiffs know it. If they refile this suit in a different district, it will show they are attempting to judge-shop. For groups like the ACLU and SPLC, this is not about justice or any concern for children. This is just about publicity and fundraising for them.”

Marshall said the law reflects growing concerns over the long-term effects of gender altering medications on teens.

“The law reflects a growing international consensus that children suffering from gender dysphoria should not be receiving puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries. Children who take these drugs risk permanent infertility, loss of sexual function, increased risk of heart attack and stroke, bone-density problems, risk of altered brain development, and psycho-social harms from delayed puberty,” Marshall said. “Conversely, the majority of children who experience dysphoria will have it resolve naturally by adulthood, if not subjected to the interventions above.”