The Oklahoma legislation moves to ban “gender-affirming care” for adults under the age of 26, arguing that a person’s brain isn’t fully formed until the age of 25.
Dubbed the Millstone Act, the bill states that “a physician or other healthcare professional shall not provide gender transition procedures to any individual under twenty-six (26) years of age.”
Healthcare providers will not be allowed to administer or recommend medical care related to gender-affirming care such as puberty blockers, hormone medication, and surgeries.
The bill continues to state that doctors shall not “alter or remove physical or anatomical characteristics or features that are typical for the individual’s biological sex, or (2) instill or create physiological or anatomical characteristics that resemble a sex different from the individual’s biological sex, including but not limited to medical services that provide puberty-blocking drugs, cross-sex hormones, or other mechanisms to promote the development of feminizing or masculinizing features in the opposite biological sex, or genital or nongenital gender reassignment surgery performed to assist an individual with a gender transition.”
If caught, healthcare providers will be punished by an unclassified felony conviction and the revocation of their medical license for “unprofessional conduct.”
Medicare will also not be able to cover such surgeries or medication distribution for people in the state.
The legislation was introduced by State Sen. David Bullard (R-Okla.), who also issued a bill that bans prohibits transgender youth from using school restrooms or locker rooms consistent with their gender identity.
The Millstone Act cites a bible passage of Jesus warning of sin.
“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”
Oklahoma joins dozens of other U.S. states fighting against access to gender-affirming care.