Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) signed a bill into law on Saturday that prohibits minors from receiving “gender-affirming” health care, which includes hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and sex reassignment surgery.
A statement from Cox’s office said that the legislation came about as many countries and states have scaled back gender-transition health care for this age group due to the lack of data surrounding its long-term effects.
“While we understand our words will be of little comfort to those who disagree with us, we sincerely hope that we can treat our transgender families with more love and respect as we work to better understand the science and consequences behind these procedures," the statement said.
England’s National Health Service, for example, warned late last year that children who believe they are transgender could be experiencing a “transient phase,” which Townhall covered. This came after the NHS announced it would shutter the country’s only dedicated gender clinic for children.
The bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Michael Kennedy, a Republican, is a family physician. In a meeting with the state’s Health and Human Services Committee, he said that gender-transition care for this age group is “radical and dangerous.”
Utah is the first state in 2023 to ban these kinds of health services for children. A separate bill filed in Oklahoma earlier this year would ban this type of care for people up to age 26.
In November, Townhall reported how Chloe Cole, an 18-year-old de-transitioner, announced that she would sue the medical professionals who performed her double mastectomy procedure when she was still a minor.
According to a document Cole shared on Twitter, she began suffering from “gender dysphoria” at age 9. The organizations she intends to sue allegedly pushed her to receive "off-label” hormone treatments, puberty blockers and eventually surgery at age 15. One year after her surgery, she regretted her decision and began to undo her gender transition.
“My teenage life has been the culmination of excruciating pain, regret, and, most importantly, injustice,” Cole said when she announced her lawsuit. “It is impossible for me to recoup what I have lost, but I will ensure no child will be harmed at the hands of these liars and mutilators. I am suing these monsters.”
Last year, Cox vetoed a bill that prohibited biological male athletes who identify as transgender women from playing on women’s sports teams. However, Utah lawmakers overrode the governor's veto to preserve fairness in women’s sports.