Boe v. Marshall

This case is also known as Eknes-Tucker v. Ivey.

Facing criminal penalties and a devastating loss of essential medical care for their children, Alabama parents, medical providers, and Rev. Eknes-Tucker of Pilgrim UCC Church in Birmingham are asking a federal court to block a law criminalizing well-established medical care for transgender youth from taking effect.

A hearing on plaintiffs motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction took place on May 5, 2022 in Montgomery. Days later, a federal judge halted the law from being enforced while the lawsuit continued.

In August, families, medical experts, faith groups, and 21 states filed amicus (friend-of-the-court) briefs urging the court not to reinstate the law criminalizing healthcare for transgender youth. You can find those filings below.

Later that month, a three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision ending the freeze on the ban. Alabama parents have since requested a hearing by the full 11th Circuit to reinstate the pause so their children can continue accessing essential medical care.

Latest filings:

• Petition for Rehearing (9/11/2023)

• Amicus brief of parents of transgender adolescents (8/17/2022)

• Amicus brief of scientist, clinician, and legal healthcare experts (8/17/2022)
• Amicus brief of faith-based organizations (8/17/2022)
  • Unitarian Universalist Association, Union for Reform Judaism, Central Conference Of American Rabbis, Southeast Conference Of The United Church Of Christ, Universal Fellowship Of Metropolitan Community Churches
• Amicus brief of AAP and other medical and health organizations (8/17/2022)

• Amicus brief of organizations with expertise in international standards and availability of trans care (8/17/2022)

• Amicus brief of 21 states (8/17/2022)
  • California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington
• Amicus brief of the Trevor Project  (8/17/2022)
• Response brief for plaintiffs-appellees (8/10/2022)
• First amended complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief (8/9/2022)
• Order on the preliminary injunction (5/13/2022)
• Reply in support of plaintiffs’ motion for temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction (5/4/2022)
• Brief of American Academy of Pediatrics and additional national and state medical and mental health organizations in support of plaintiffs’ motion for temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction (5/4/2022)
• Department of Justice amended complaint in intervention (5/4/2022)
• Exhibit: Medical associations statements in support of established medical care for transgender youth (5/3/2022)
• Plaintiffs motion for temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction (4/21/2022)
• Memo in support of plaintiffs motion for temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction (4/21/2022)

New Report:

A new report by legal and medical experts from Yale Law School, the Yale School of Medicine’s Child Study Center and Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, and the University of Texas Southwestern gives an in-depth analysis of misleading scientific claims that informed Alabama’s move to criminalize medical treatment for transgender youth.

• Executive Summary
• Full Report

Additional Information:

The law, SB 184, punishes parents and their children’s doctors for providing – or even suggesting – well-established essential medical care for their transgender children. The punishment can include up to 10 years in prison.

The filing in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama – Northern Division is on behalf of four Alabama parents, a private practice pediatrician, a clinical psychologist with the UAB medical system, and Reverend Paul Eknes-Tucker, Senior Pastor at Pilgrim United Church of Christ in Birmingham. The court filing explains that the law strips them of the right to make important decisions about their children’s healthcare.

The plaintiffs are represented by GLAD, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Human Rights Campaign, Lightfoot, Franklin & White LLC, and King & Spalding LLP.