West Virginia has become the latest state to pass legislation aimed at banning evidence-based healthcare for transgender minors. The state is estimated to have the highest per capita rate of transgender youth in the country, yet lawmakers have advanced a bill to outlaw those under 18 from being prescribed hormone therapy and fully reversible medication for suspending the physical changes of puberty, allowing patients and parents time to make future decisions about hormone therapy. The legislation also includes a ban on gender-affirming surgery for minors, something medical professionals emphasize does not happen in West Virginia anyway.
Supporters of the bill often characterize gender-affirming treatments as medically unproven, potentially dangerous in the long term, and a symptom of “woke” culture. However, every major medical organization, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Psychiatric Association, supports gender-affirming care for youths. The bill contains significant exemptions to the medication therapy ban for people under the age of 18 at risk for suicide, provisions added in the final week of the 60-day legislative session.
The changes made by Senate Majority Leader Tom Takubo, who is a physician, would allow some transgender youth to continue receiving medical interventions under certain circumstances, including hormone therapy if they experience severe gender dysphoria. During a speech on the Senate floor, Takubo referenced 17 peer-reviewed studies showing a significant decrease in the rates of suicide ideation and suicide attempts among youth with severe gender dysphoria who have access to medication therapy.
The rate of suicide ideation for transgender youth in West Virginia is three times higher than the rate for all youth in the state, according to research complied by West Virginia University Medicine physicians using West Virginia Youth Risk Behavior Survey data. Under the amended bill, a person below the age of 18 would need to be diagnosed with severe gender dysphoria by at least two medical or mental health providers to gain access to medication therapy.
However, the bill has faced criticism from advocates who argue that transgender youth should have access to evidence-based healthcare, and that denying them such care puts their lives at risk. Democratic Del. Danielle Walker, the Legislature’s only openly LGBTQ member, led chants of the state motto, “Mountaineers are always free,” as a crowd of protesters descended on the state Capitol two days before the bill was passed. The bill is now headed to the desk of Gov. Jim Justice, who has not taken a public stance on the measure.
