Utah Bill That Would Protect Children From Medical Gender ‘Transition’ May Be Getting Softened to Allow Hormone Treatments
A Utah bill aimed at protecting children from being subjected to medical gender transition treatments may be getting softened to “compromise.”
The original bill was going to ban doctors from giving children under 18 years old hormone therapy, puberty blockers, or transgender surgeries.
The author of the bill, Republican Rep. Rex Shipp is working on a revised version that will allow hormone therapy and puberty blockers with “informed consent” from the child.
“That involves a psychologist working with anyone who is brought to them with this concern for a period of time. They cannot start on any puberty blockers or hormones until that period of time is satisfied,” Rep. Shipp said, according to a report from ABC 4.
The original bill will also allow someone who was given transgender treatments to sue the doctor until the patient turns 30, in case they regret their decision. This provision would likely make doctors far more hesitant to opt for these treatments for minors.
It is unclear if that portion will remain in the bill.
“One of these children, if they get to a point later in life and realize, ‘look I’m not really transgender,’ there can be a call of action against the doctors for the process,” said Shipp. “I wish the parents would do all they could to help them wait, get them the mental help that they need to get through the process until they’re more mature.”
But Sue Robbins of the Equality Utah Transgender Advisory Council told the station that the bill could be “dangerous” since people who identify as transgender have higher suicide rates.
“Just everything they can find to make life difficult for us, or even unmanageable, they’re trying to put that in place, so that they can drive us back in the closet, so they don’t see us anymore. It’s discriminatory and it’s hateful,” Robbins said.
