Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a law on Friday banning the treatment of transgender minors. It has become the largest state in the US to refuse such therapy. Abbott decided to do so, following in the footsteps of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. He also signed a similar bill in May. Texas and Florida are the second and third most populous states in the US.
Texas law prohibits medical professionals from prescribing hormone blockers or performing gender transition surgery on anyone under 18, reports AFP. This has come into force from 1 September. The law excludes minors already receiving puberty blockers or hormone therapy. Still, they must “discontinue prescription medication over a while and in a safe and medically appropriate manner.”
Transgender rights have increasingly become a hot-button issue in US politics, with Democrats condemning moves such as the Texas and Florida laws that infringe on fundamental rights. On Friday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas said it would file a lawsuit against the state’s ban. “Abbott can’t stop trans youth from thriving in Texas – and we’ll take him to court to make sure it happens,” the rights organization tweeted.
After the bill was passed by the Texas state legislature last month, American rights organizations – including the ACLU of Texas and the Lambda Legal and Transgender Law Center – said the law banned “medically necessary health care”. The groups said, “The Texas Senate bill bans the only evidence-based care for gender dysphoria for transgender people ages 14-18 and aims to deprive doctors of their medical licenses so that They can provide the medically necessary care to their patients.”
More than a dozen Republican-led states have passed similar restrictions in recent months. President Joe Biden said in March that “such attacks on transgender rights were un-American and must end.”
More than half of transgender and non-binary youth in Texas seriously contemplated suicide during 2022, according to a survey by The Trevor Project, a non-profit organization engaged in suicide prevention efforts among LGBTQ+ youth. “LGBTQ youth are not inherently vulnerable to suicide risk because of their sexual or gender identity, but because of the stigma and stigma they face in society,” the survey said.
