(LibertySociety.com) – Texas has become the latest, and the largest state to ban transgender procedures for minors, as well as the use of puberty blockers and opposite-gender hormones, after Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed the bill last week. Beginning on September 1st, 2023, these practices will no longer be allowed, and children who have been taking the blockers or hormones for one year preceded by half a year of therapy will be required to slowly decrease their doses until they have quit the drugs completely. The law specifies the procedures that will be illegal for surgeons to perform, while also banning the use of public dollars to pay for the surgeries or drugs.
Sterilization procedures for children will also be banned. These include vasectomies, hysterectomies, or any other procedure that would prevent a child from reproducing in the future. Many critics of such procedures have argued that because children and teens are not fully developed, they shouldn’t be making these potentially life-changing decisions.
However, the law is likely to be challenged in court by those who support gender-affirming care for minors. As a result of the ban, the Americans for Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has vowed to defend transgender children. The bill was first passed, the ACLU and other advocates revealed they would be suing, stating that these types of procedures and drugs are “medically necessary,” adding that they help children “live authentically as themselves.”
So far, twenty states have banned this type of care for minors, according to Reuters. While some institutions oppose these new laws, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, Conservative lawmakers have been pushing to make them a reality. On June 5th, 2023, the Louisiana Senate passed a similar bill, sending it to the House. It is unclear if he will veto the legislation, as he declined to do so when a ban on transgender athletes competing in sports not aligned with their biological sex was passed in 2022.
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