Oklahoma has become the latest state to pass legislation banning gender-affirming medical care for minors, joining at least 15 other states across the country. Governor Kevin Stitt signed the bill that makes it illegal for healthcare workers to provide minors with treatments that can include puberty-blocking drugs and hormones. The bill also prohibits irreversible gender transition surgeries and hormone therapies on minors.
Conservatives across the US have been targeting transgender rights and making them a priority in their legislative sessions. Governor Stitt, who was reelected in November, claims that he is protecting children, while transgender advocates and parents of transgender children argue that such care is essential.
Civil liberty organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma, have promised to “take any necessary legal action” to prevent the law from taking effect. Lambda Legal, the ACLU and the ACLU also released a joint statement arguing that gender-affirming care is crucial in helping transgender adolescents succeed, establish healthy relationships with their friends and family, live authentically as themselves, and dream about their futures.
The ban makes it illegal to provide gender-transition medical care for anyone under the age of 18, including surgery, hormones, and drugs that suppress or delay normal puberty. Nearly two dozen states are considering bills this year to restrict or ban such care. Three states — Florida, Missouri, and Texas — have already banned or restricted the care through regulations or administrative orders.
The passing of this law has sparked outrage among transgender and LGBTQ+ communities, who argue that trans rights are human rights. The legislation continues a wave of anti-transgender legislation and policies being passed across the United States, and transgender advocates fear that it will lead to more discrimination and stigma against transgender individuals.