Texas has become the largest state in the country whose lawmakers have now banned gender-altering surgeries for minors after Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed it into law on Friday.
Under SB14, the administration of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgical procedures like double mastectomies for girls identifying as boys is banned. Additionally, the bill restricts the use of state funds for financing such procedures for children.
“If there comes a time when a profession such as the medical profession cannot regulate itself to protect patients — protect children — then the government needs to step in,” said state Sen. Donna Campbell, the bill’s author, during previous debate on the matter, The Daily Wire reported.
“Our children need counseling and love, not blades and drugs,” she noted further.
The report added:
With Abbott’s signature, the Lone Star State joins at least 18 other states that have banned transgender surgeries for minors, with many prohibiting both surgical and chemical procedures.
The Texas law says that the procedures are prohibited “for the purpose of transitioning a child’s biological sex as determined by the sex organs, chromosomes, and endogenous profiles of the child or affirming the child’s perception of the child’s sex if that perception is inconsistent with the child’s biological sex.”
The passage of the legislation through both chambers of the Texas legislature faced delays as Democrats employed parliamentary tactics to impede its progress.
Notably, Democratic Rep. Shawn Thierry broke party ranks and voted in favor of the bill, pointing to scientific evidence highlighting the long-term effects of transgender procedures.
Left-wing groups have already vowed to take legal action to try and block the law, the outlet noted.
“Transgender people have always been here and will always be here,” said Ash Hall of the ACLU of Texas. “Our trans youth deserve a world where they can shine alongside their peers, and we will keep advocating for that world in and out of the courts.”
Notably, the law, like those in other states, does not ‘target’ trans-youth. It simply blocks children from making permanent surgical changes to their bodies.
The passing of this law follows a report alleging transgender procedures being performed on children as young as 11 at a children’s hospital in Houston.
Whistleblower documents obtained by Christopher Rufo from City Journal revealed that Texas Children’s Hospital, the largest children’s hospital in the United States, administered implantable puberty blockers to several children, including at least one 11-year-old, The Daily Wire noted.
