The state of Utah has just passed a law that bans puberty blockers and transgender surgeries for minors.
Utah’s governor on Saturday signed the bill that ban youth from receiving gender-affirming health care and another bill that allow families to receive scholarships to pay for education outside the public school system, both measures that are part of larger nationwide movements.
The Transgender Medical Treatments and Procedures Amendments, introduced by state senator and family physician Mike Kennedy (R.), prohibits “permanent and life-altering” gender transition treatments for minors and bans puberty blockers for any patient not already diagnosed with gender dysphoria.
They are the first state to pass such a law this year and not less than 18 other states are working on similar bills in the beginning weeks of their 2023 sessions.
Among the critics is the ACLU of Utah. In its letter to the Governor, the civil rights organization said it was deeply concerned about “the damaging and potentially catastrophic effects this law will have on people’s lives and medical care and the grave violations of people’s constitutional rights it will cause.
“By cutting off medical treatment supported by every major medical association in the United States, the bill compromises the health and well-being of adolescents with gender dysphoria. It ties the hands of doctors and parents by restricting access to the only evidence-based treatment available for this serious medical condition and impedes their ability to fulfill their professional obligations,” the letter said.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Utah and the National Center for Lesbian Rights said on Monday they will be filing a lawsuit against the bill.
“We’re putting together a challenge as quickly as we can,” Shannon Minter, the NCLR’s legal director, told KSL NewsRadio.
“If a child cannot get treatment they will be harmed, they will become sicker, they’ll become worse, they will suffer very serious consequences … even life threatening consequences.”
Missouri, Montana, South Carolina, and Oklahoma are among the states trying to pass similar laws this year prohibiting transgender surgeries, hormone therapy and puberty blockers for minors.