Alabama: Gender-affirming care for youth made a felony
Reuters reported on April 8 that Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has signed into law a bill that would criminalize gender-affirming healthcare for Trans youth, as part of a string of similar bills by other conservative state legislatures.

The law will make it a felony to provide medical care like hormone treatment, puberty blockers, and gender-affirming surgery to a minor, with a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

Gov. Ivey cited Christian doctrine of God's design in a statement about the decision, and called gender-affirming care "radical, life-altering drugs and surgeries" from which youth, he argued, should be protected.

Ivey signed the measure despite the American Academy of Pediatrics reminding her that medical and mental health professionals agree that gender-affirming care reduces the risk of depression and suicide.

"This legislation targets vulnerable young people and puts them at great risk of physical and mental harm," said the academy's chief executive, Mark Del Monte, in a statement. "Criminalizing evidence-based, medically necessary services is dangerous."

Washington, DC: Book bans a national issue
Reuters reported on April 7 that more than a thousand books have been banned from classrooms and school libraries in the last nine months, as conservative parents and officials have pressured the institutions to limit access to material addressing racism and LGBTQ issues.

Writers' organization PEN America made the announcement after compiling a database of banned books, which includes titles by Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison and a memoir by actor and activist George Takei.

"Challenges to books, specifically books by non-white male authors, are happening at the highest rates we've ever seen," said Jonathan Friedman, the author of the report. "What is happening in this country in terms of banning books in schools is unparalleled in its frequency, intensity, and success."

The issue of book bans reached Congress on April 7, where a hearing was held addressing book bans and academic censorship.