The Utah legislature voted Friday to ban “transgender” surgeries and cross-sex hormone drugs for children.
The bill, which passed the state Senate by a vote of 20-8, will go to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) who has ten days to sign or veto the bill. If he does neither, the bill will go into effect.
According to the Salt Lake Tribune, the governor’s office has not taken an official position, but a veto would likely be overridden by the Senate as it already passed beyond the veto override margin in the House and Senate.
The measure indefinitely pauses doctors’ abilities to prescribe puberty blockers, hormone drugs, and surgeries while the Utah Department of Health and Human Services conducts a “systematic review.” It does not set an end date for the review.
It also does not stop children who are currently taking such drugs to continue doing so, but rather puts a moratorium on new patients.
Bill sponsor state Sen. Mike Kennedy (R) said he anticipates litigation on the issue if it is enacted, and some lawyers believe it could be found unconstitutional.
State Senate Minority Leader Sen. Luz Escamilla (D) cried during the vote, and said, “We’ve received so many emails, texts and phone calls from parents begging for their families and children, many of them are children I’ve known for years.”
“We see you, and we love your beautiful children and we will continue to work to mitigate the impact of this into their lives,” she continued.
“Transgender” surgeries and drugs for children is a topic of much debate in the medical community. While the American medical establishment is pushing full-steam ahead with advocating such irreversible procedures and treatments, many European countries are sounding the alarm on how harmful they are.
As Breitbart News reported, the United States is the “most permissive country” for child sex change operations and gender “transition” drug treatments compared to any European country.
Breccan F. Thies is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @BreccanFThies.