Texas Senate committee advances bill that would block minors’ access to gender-affirming care

The Texas Senate is expected to soon debate a bill that would prohibit doctors from giving puberty blockers, hormone therapies and other gender-affirming healthcare to transgender minors, the Texas Tribune reports.

The Senate’s State Affairs Committee advanced Senate Bill 14 on Monday in a 7-3 party-line vote, according to the Tribune. All of those in favor of the proposal were Republicans, who hold the majority in both the Senate and the Texas Legislature.

SB 14 is a legislative priority for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has championed multiple measures seeking to take rights away from transgender Texans. Those include a failed 2017 proposal that would ban trans people from public restrooms.

The Texas Pediatric Society, the Texas Psychological Association and other medical organizations testified against SB 14 last week, according to the Tribune. Nearly every major medical and mental health association is in favor of gender-affirming health care for minors who experience gender dysphoria.

“A blanket ban on these medical treatments is a very blunt instrument for the state to use and prohibits treatment options that are critical for the health and well-being of a transgender youth with gender dysphoria,” said Louis Appel, president of the Texas Pediatric Society, the Tribune reports.

SB 14 would also ban transition surgery for children. Despite becoming a talking point for Republicans in legislatures across the country, such surgeries are rarely, if ever, performed on minors.

To date, at least eight Republican-controlled states have passed legislation blocking gender-affirming care for minors.

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This article appears in Mar 8-21, 2023.