Texas on Friday became the most populous state to ban gender-affirming care for minors, as Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed a bill outlawing puberty blockers and hormone therapy for people under 18.
She said Abbott’s signing the bill hit particularly hard because it came at the start of Pride Month. “This is not going to change who people are. It’s going to force folks to find other methods to access care, for some people going to the gray market” for medications, she said.
The state’s House and Senate passed the bill in mid-May, and the new law will come into effect on Sept. 1. At least 18 other states have banned gender-affirming medication or surgical care for transgender youths, according to the Movement Advancement Project, a Colorado-based nonprofit think tank that advocates for LGBTQ+ rights.
Under the law, insurance plans are banned from covering any treatments “that are intended to transition a child’s biological sex.” As well as banning any puberty-blocking drugs or hormone treatment for minors, the law prevents health-care providers from carrying out gender-affirming surgeries, including mastectomies.
Several medical associations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, have said they are “strongly opposed to any legislation or regulation” that would prevent the provision of gender-affirming care to “gender-diverse individuals, including children and adolescents,” saying this prevents “the provision of evidence-based patient care.”
Doctors generally advise waiting until a child reaches puberty before taking puberty blockers or hormone treatments, The Washington Post has reported.
A majority of Americans oppose puberty-blocking medications and hormonal treatments for trans children, according to a Washington Post-KFF poll. The survey was conducted in November and December, before state lawmakers introduced more than 400 anti-trans bills this year.
The new Texas law has some exceptions. Any minor who began receiving puberty blockers or hormone treatments before June 1, and attended at least 12 sessions of mental health counseling or psychotherapy beforehand, may continue to take them — but they must “wean off the prescription drug over a period of time” and will be prevented from beginning any new treatment, according to the measures.
Medical professionals who violate the ban will have their license revoked, and public money may not be used by any individual or facility providing gender-affirming care.
The Texas branch of the American Civil Liberties Union said Friday it would launch a legal challenge against the bill. “Abbott can’t stop trans youth from thriving in Texas — and we’ll take him to court to make sure of it,” it said in a tweet.
“Health care for trans youth is still legal in Texas until September 1, 2023. We are doing everything in our power to preserve access to this life-saving, evidence-based health care beyond that date,” it added.
Last month, after lawmakers in Texas passed the bill restricting access to gender-affirming treatments, The Post reported that families with transgender children feared they would have to move or seek out-of-state care — an option made more difficult by a lack of medical facilities, long waiting times and potential insurance issues.
Stanton’s family plans to relocate to Colorado, where they don’t know many people but expect their rights will be protected, she said Saturday.
In Denver, they will face a two-year wait for care at a local clinic that’s seen an influx of patients from Texas, she said. She’s arranged interim care for her daughter from California.
Stanton said the move is “painful” because “it’s like we’re political refugees.”
“You’re uprooting your whole life. You’re saying goodbye to your community. We shouldn’t have to leave. But we don’t feel safe here anymore,” she said, adding that state lawmakers “don’t care about my rights.”
“We’ll be advocating from safer ground,” she said.
Stanton knows other parents of transgender children who are still struggling to find care.
“I know two moms taking children out of state but the dads are staying behind because they work in oil and gas. They’ll have to see each other on the weekends. People’s livelihoods are tied here,” she said.
The Williams Institute, a research center that reports on LGBT community demographics, estimates that almost 30,000 Texans between the ages of 13 and 17 identify as transgender — the highest number in any state with a similar ban.
Last month, the Texas House and Senate also voted in support of a bill that would extend a ban on transgender girls taking part in female sports in public schools to force college athletes to compete based on their sex as assigned at birth. The new bill has been sent to the governor.
A Washington Post analysis in April found that a record number of bills targeting LGBTQ rights became law in U.S. states in the first four months of this 2023 — many of them focusing on transgender rights.
The ACLU is tracking almost 500 anti-LGBTQ bills in the United States, including 53 in Texas.
Andrew Jeong contributed to this report.
