HB303 Alabama 2020 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Wes AllenSecretary

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2020

Title

Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act, prohibits gender change therapy for minors, prohibits withholding of certain related information from parents

Summary

HB303 would ban gender-transition related medical treatments for minors and require schools to share student health information with parents, while adding penalties for violations.

What This Bill Does

It prohibits doctors and other providers from giving puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, or performing gender-affirming surgeries on minors, with limited exceptions for certain medically verifiable disorders of sex development. It requires schools to disclose certain information about students to parents and bars school staff from encouraging or enabling students to withhold health information from their parents. Violations carry criminal penalties: I Class C felony for prohibited medical procedures; II Class A misdemeanor for school staff who withhold information from parents. The bill also includes definitions, clarifies it does not change existing medical liability rules, and contains provisions related to a constitutional amendment about local funding and an effective date of 30 days after passage.

Who It Affects

• Minors who might seek or be considered for gender-transition related care and the healthcare providers who would treat them, since such procedures and medications are prohibited with limited exceptions and could lead to criminal penalties.
• Students, their parents or guardians, and school staff (nurses, counselors, teachers, principals, and administrators) because schools would be required to disclose health information to parents and staff could face penalties for withholding information.

Key Provisions

• Prohibits prescribing, dispensing, administering, or supplying puberty-blocking medications to stop or delay puberty for a minor, with certain exceptions.
• Prohibits prescribing, dispensing, administering, or supplying supraphysiologic doses of testosterone or other androgens to females, supraphysiologic doses of estrogen to males, and performing sterilizing or genital-appearance altering surgeries, with specified exceptions for certain disorders of sexual development.
• Increases protections by requiring schools to disclose certain information about students to parents and prohibiting staff from encouraging withholding or withholding such information from parents, with penalties for violations.
• Defines key terms (MINOR, SEX, PERSON) used in the act and clarifies it does not alter standard medical care rules or medical liability laws.
• Establishes penalties: violations related to prohibited medical care would be Class C felonies; violations related to information disclosure would be Class A misdemeanors.
• Includes constitutional funding provisions (Amendment 621 context) indicating the bill may require local funds but is exempt from some voting requirements due to stated exceptions, and states the act becomes effective 30 days after passage.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 22, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Public Health Department