Utah Law Banning Gender-Affirming Care for Minors Criticized by Rights Groups

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Rights groups across the nation had expressed their outrage over the recently signed Utah law SB16 which prohibits healthcare professionals from providing gender-affirming care to minors who have not been diagnosed with gender dysphoria before the law was signed. This legislation effectively bans hormonal treatment for future transgender people under 18 and prevents doctors from performing gender-affirming surgeries on minors.

In response to this law, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has spoken out Monday, condemning Utah Governor Spencer Cox for his decision to sign SB16. HRC stated that this law is part of a “dangerous effort by far-right political extremists and national anti-LGBTQ+ organizations” which aim to take away “age-appropriate, life-saving, medically necessary care for transgender youth.” HRC asserts that this law puts the health and safety of these minors in danger.

The Trevor Project, a mental health organization that focuses on LGBTQ+ individuals, recently spoke out against SB16 as well. Citing their 2021 research which found that transgender and nonbinary minors who receive gender-affirming care have a significantly lower likelihood of depression and attempting suicide, the organization has denounced this law as “harmful to the mental health of transgender youth.”

  

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The Utah division of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also expressed their discontent with SB16. In an open letter addressed to Cox, they stated that this law was discriminatory based on sex and transgender status. Cox defended his decision, claiming that there is a lack of research to support how these treatments will affect minors in the long term.

SB16 is part of a larger debate about gender-affirming care for minors across America that has been ongoing for some time. In November, Ohio proposed a bill to limit gender-affirming treatment for minors. Oklahoma passed a law in October withholding COVID relief funds from hospitals providing Gender-Affirming Care to Minors. However, the Arkansas Court of Appeals ruled in August that this state may not prohibit doctors from performing gender-affirming care on transgender youth.

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Rights group condemns Utah law prohibiting gender-affirming care for minors