Texas governor signs ban on gender-affirming treatment for trans youth

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday signed into law a bill banning gender-affirming care for transgender youth, making it the 18th and largest state in the nation to enact such a ban.

Senate Bill 14, which passed the state’s Republican-majority legislature last month despite fierce opposition from Democrats, is “vicious,” “cruel” and “blatantly unconstitutional,” according to Ash Hall, policy and advocacy strategist for the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas.

Texas’ GOP-controlled Senate voted 19-12 to approve the bill, while the House — also controlled by Republicans — passed the legislation on an 87-46 vote.

The ban was approved despite the fact that gender-affirming care is considered “a supportive form of health care” that improves “the mental health and overall well-being of gender-diverse children and adolescents,” according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The practice is backed by nearly all major medical associations in the U.S.

The law, which is set to take effect Sept. 1, has some exceptions for youth already undergoing treatment or those who attended at least 12 sessions of mental health counseling or psychotherapy for at least six months.

The ban is the latest example of an ongoing push by Republican lawmakers in conservative states to restrict the rights of the LGBTQ community — specifically trans youth.

It comes just over a year after Abbott ordered state agencies to conduct a “prompt and thorough” investigation into gender-affirming care for transgender youth, threatening legal consequences and criminal penalties for those who failed to report what he called child “abuse.”

Texas has an estimated 29,800 trans youth between the ages of 13 and 17, according to UCLA’s Williams Institute, a public policy research institute focused on sexual orientation and gender identity issues.

State civil rights organizations and national LGBTQ groups have already vowed to fight the ban in court.

“Gov. Abbott has signed #SB14 into law, banning life-saving health care for trans youth,” the ACLU of Texas tweeted Friday night. “Abbott can’t stop trans youth from thriving in Texas — and we’ll take him to court to make sure of it.”

According to the Human Rights Campaign, more than 520 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in state legislatures so far this year. Over 220 of those specifically restrict the rights of transgender and nonbinary people.