FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 16, 2022
For press inquiries only, contact:
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Attorney General Steve Marshall Announces Plaintiffs’ Dismissal of Their Lawsuits Challenging Alabama’s Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act
(MONTGOMERY)—Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced that Friday night, plaintiffs who had recently challenged Alabama’s Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act simultaneously dropped their challenges to the law.
“On April 8, 2022, Alabama enacted the Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act to protect children from experimental medical interventions that have no proven benefits and carry with them substantial risk of long-term, irreversible harm,” said Attorney General Marshall. “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. Conversely, the majority of children who experience dysphoria will have it resolve naturally by adulthood, if not subjected to the interventions above.
“Alabama’s law was challenged almost immediately by a fleet of activist groups that collectively control billions of dollars. 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.
“Despite those demands for immediate judicial intervention, last night, the Plaintiffs in both cases voluntarily and simultaneously dismissed their lawsuits. I’m grateful for the work my team has done to defend this important law and the children it defends.”
The Walker Plaintiffs’ notice of dismissal can be read here. The Ladinsky Plaintiffs’ notice of dismissal can be read here.
[For hyperlinks, click PDF icon at upper right of press release]
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