A senate bill banning sex change surgeries or prescribing puberty blockers to minors passed in the Texas Senate on Tuesday SB 14 would ban common ‘gender-affirming’ health care, including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgeries, for minors under age 18.
It also would punish practicing physicians who provide children with such treatment with license revocation, and it would block the use of public dollars to go to facilities that provide such care.
The bill would not apply to children who receive such treatments for other medical reasons, including premature puberty, endometriosis or being born intersex.
State Sen. Donna Campbell from New Braunfels, a physician and author of the bill, said she believes gender dysphoria is addressed with treatments that are “unsafe, unhealthy, unethical and unacceptable,” adding that the bill is necessary to end the “mutilation” of children.
While the initial bill banned the prescribing of hormones and puberty blockers to all Texas minors, an amendment was approved last week by the Senate that included a grandfather clause that any Texan under the age of 18 already receiving puberty blockers or hormones for the purpose of transitioning up to 90 days prior to Sept. 1 could continue using the medication without repercussions – but that amendment was stripped, and approval was reversed.
The bill now moves forward to the House. A House committee heard testimony for several hours last week on an identical bill making its way through the lower chamber. As of Tuesday, that bill remained pending in committee.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick issued a statement after passage of Senate Bill 14, “As Lt. Governor, I believe the practice of child gender modification is abhorrent and must be stopped in Texas.
“The Senate and I have been committed to banning the practice of child gender modification and, last session, the Senate passed two bills, SB 1646, by Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, and SB 1311, by Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, but neither bill received a hearing in the House and they both died. That is why SB 14 is one of my top priories this session.”