Utah has banned sex-change surgeries for minors and issued new requirements for doctors to follow in order to prescribe hormone blockers and cross-sex hormones to children with gender dysphoria.
Utah's Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed Senate Bill 16 into law on Saturday. It will go into effect on July 1.
The bill, sponsored by Republican Sen. Mike Kennedy, restricts doctors from performing sex-change surgeries on minors and allows individuals to bring malpractice lawsuits against providers who administered transgender treatments to them as minors if they no longer agree with the gender transition.
Under the new law, healthcare providers cannot prescribe hormone therapies to new patients who were not diagnosed with gender dysphoria before a certain period. Providers must also meet specific requirements.
According to The Christian Post, the new legislation comes amid concerns over the long-term effects of these types of procedures.
"Legislation that impacts our most vulnerable youth requires careful consideration and deliberation. While not a perfect bill, we are grateful for Sen. Kennedy's more nuanced and thoughtful approach to this terribly divisive issue," Cox said in a statement. "More and more experts, states and countries around the world are pausing these permanent and life-altering treatments for new patients until more and better research can help determine the long-term consequences."
"We will continue to push the Legislature for additional resources to organizations that work to help this important Utah community," the governor continued. "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."
As Christian Headlines previously reported, a recent study found that the United States is more lenient toward transgender treatments than Europe.
European countries, including the United Kingdom, Finland, Sweden and France, have voiced concerns about performing transgender treatments on minors.
Related:
U.S. Is 'Most Permissive Country' When It Comes to Transgender Treatments, Study Shows
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Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
