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Texas\u2019 ban on gender-affirming care for minors goes into effect today, making it the largest state to pass such a measure in service of the right\u2019s draconian efforts to legislate trans youth out of existence.<\/p>\n

SB 14 bars almost all minors from receiving common forms of gender-affirming care, including puberty blockers and hormone therapy. Although exceptions are being made for intersex minors, kids who are already receiving treatment for gender dysphoria will be forced to be \u201cweaned off\u201d their medications, according to CBS Texas<\/a>. Under SB 14, healthcare providers who continue to provide these services to trans youth will have their licenses revoked.<\/p>\n

On August 25, state District Judge Maria Cant\u00fa Hexse had ruled against the law<\/a>, siding with five families, three medical providers, and two LGBTQ+ organizations who jointly sued the state of Texas<\/a> in July, arguing that SB 14 violates Texas\u2019 state constitution. In her ruling, Hexsel noted that the law \u201cinterferes with Texas families\u2019 private decisions\u201d regarding trans children\u2019s medical care, as well as doctors\u2019 ability to follow \u201cwell-established, evidence-based\u201d medical guidelines.<\/p>\n

In response, the Texas attorney general office \u2014 led by Angela Colmenero in place of the impeached Attorney General Ken Paxton<\/a> \u2014 filed an appeal with the state Supreme Court, which automatically paused the judge\u2019s injunction. Following the state\u2019s appeal, the plaintiffs filed an emergency request asking the Texas Supreme Court to temporarily block the law again. However, the court denied their request on August 31, allowing SB 14 to take effect.<\/p>\n

According to the Human Rights Campaign<\/a>, with Texas joining 19 other states that have adopted laws or policies restricting gender-affirming care for minors, more than one-fifth of trans youth now live in states that have passed such laws.<\/p>\n

The ACLU of Texas condemned the court\u2019s Thursday decision in a statement<\/a>, declaring that \u201cthe fight is far from over.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the challenges to gender-affirming care bans in other states are any indication, the ACLU couldn\u2019t be more correct. In June, a federal judge ruled that Arkansas\u2019 ban on transition-related care for minors was unconstitutional<\/a> because it violates the equal-protection rights of trans kids and their families. Federal judges have also blocked similar laws from going into effect in Florida<\/a>, Kentucky<\/a>, and Tennessee<\/a>, although legal action later allowed the Tennessee and Kentucky laws to go into effect.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Texas\u2019] district court clearly articulated the ways in which S.B. 13 likely violates the Texas Constitution,\u201d the ACLU of Texas\u2019 statement continued. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t agree more, and look forward to continuing this fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

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[ad_1] Texas\u2019 ban on gender-affirming care for minors goes into effect today, making it the largest state to pass such a measure in service of the right\u2019s draconian efforts to legislate trans youth out of existence. SB 14 bars almost all minors from receiving common forms of gender-affirming care, including puberty blockers and hormone therapy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":4751,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[39],"class_list":{"0":"post-4750","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-lifestyle"},"yoast_head":"\n