Alabama lawmakers pass harshest anti-trans bill in the US

Alabama lawmakers vote to make gender-affirming health care for trans youth a felony; Pakistan’s prime minister is in danger of being ousted.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Natasha Ishak.

Alabama legislature votes to criminalize gender-affirming care for trans youth 

Julie Bennett/Getty Images

• Alabama lawmakers voted on Thursday to criminalize gender-affirming care for transgender youth, effectively outlawing it. LGBTQ advocates have described the law as one of the most “hostile” anti-trans laws in the nation. [Associated Press / Kim Chandler]

• Called the Vulnerable Child Protection Act, the bill prohibits doctors and nurses from providing gender-affirming care to transgender minors, including treatments like puberty blockers and hormone therapy, as well as performing gender-affirming surgeries. [AL.com / Mike Cason]

• Providers who ignore the law face the threat of a felony conviction of up to 10 years in prison. [Guardian / Oliver Laughland]

• Medical professionals have criticized the bill, arguing that it distorts gender affirming care for youth and spreads misinformation about what that care entails. [ABC News / Kiara Alfonseca]

• The bill is currently being reviewed by Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, who has not yet indicated whether she will sign it into law. [Montgomery Advertiser / Brian Lyman]

• Alabama’s potential law follows other anti-trans policies in states like Arkansas, Arizona, and Tennessee. [New York Times / Rick Rojas and Tariro Mzezewa]

Pakistan Supreme Court rules PM’s block of no-confidence vote unconstitutional

• Pakistan’s highest court ruled unanimously on Thursday that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s move to block a no-confidence parliament vote that likely would have ousted him was unconstitutional. [CNN / Sophia Saifi, Rhea Mogul, and Azaz Syed]

• Opposition members of Pakistan’s parliament submitted an appeal to the Supreme Court after Khan blocked the no-confidence vote on Sunday and moved to dissolve the government body. [BBC]

• Khan’s critics, including defectors from Khan’s own party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, have criticized the prime minister for mismanaging the country’s economy. His 2018 election was also mired in allegations of corruption. [AP / Kathy Gannon and Munir Ahmed]

• The court ordered parliament be restored in order to proceed with the no-confidence vote this weekend, fueling speculation of Khan’s likely exit. [Deutsche Welle]

• In a Friday address to the nation, Khan said he was “upset” by the court’s decision and reiterated his allegations that the US is working with his rivals to force him out. [Tribune India]

South Carolina scheduled its first execution of a death row inmate, Richard Moore, since updates were made to its death chamber to accommodate firing squad executions. [CBS News]

• Former Sudanese militia chief Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-al-Rahman denied allegations of humanitarian atrocities during an ongoing trial over Darfur war crimes at the Hague. [Middle East Eye / Mohammed Amin]
• Elon Musk’s SpaceX made history Friday, after launching the first all-civilian crew on a mission to the International Space Station. [NBC News / Denise Chow]
• Dozens of Ukrainian civilians were killed in a Russian missile attack on a train station in Kramatorsk where evacuees had gathered to flee the country. [Guardian / Luke Harding and Shaun Walker]

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"This is wrong. Y'all sit there and campaign on family being the foundation of our nation ... but what this bill is doing is totally undermining that. It's totally undermining family rights, health rights, and access to health care."

[Rep. Neil Rafferty, the only openly gay member of the Alabama legislature, before a vote on the state’s anti-trans health care ban / AP]

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