AUSTIN – The Texas Supreme Court has upheld the state’s ban on gender-affirming treatment for minors, rejecting claims by parents that it infringes on transgender children’s right to seek medical care.
The 8-1 ruling by the all-Republican court, released Friday, left the law in place has been applied starting September 1, 2023. Texas is the largest of at least 25 states that have adopted laws limiting or prohibiting gender-affirming medical treatment for transgender minors.
Most of these countries are facing lawsuits, and the US Supreme Court recently agreed to hear an appeal from the Biden administration trying to block the state’s ban on gender-affirming treatment. The case before the high court involves a Tennessee law that restricts puberty blocking and hormone therapy to transgender minors, similar to a Texas law.
Texas law blocks transgender minors from accessing hormone therapy, puberty blockers and transition surgeries, even though medical experts say such surgical procedures are rarely performed on children. Children who have started on currently banned drugs should be weaned in a “medically appropriate” manner.
“We conclude the Legislature made a rational and rational policy choice to limit the types of medical procedures available to children, especially as they relate to gender dysphoria and various treatment methods and the Legislature’s constitutional authority to regulate these practices. regarding drugs, ” said the decision.
Lambda Legal, a non-profit organization that advocates civil rights for the LGBTQ+ community, issued a statement critical of the court’s decision.
“Instead of leaving the medical decisions about minors up to the parents and doctors, the Court here chose to let the politicians – in complete disregard of the overwhelming medical consensus – determine what treatment is allowed, threatening the health and well-being of the very lives of the transgender youth of Texas ,” said Karen Loewy, managing director of Lambda Legal’s constitutional law practice.
Lawsuits challenging the Texas law say there are devastating consequences for transgender teenagers who cannot get critical care recommended by their doctors and parents.
Lower court ruled the law unconstitutionalbut it has been allowed to apply while the state Supreme Court considers the case.
The restrictions on health care are part of a larger backlash against transgender rights, touching on everything bathroom access for participation in sports.
As more states move to implement health care restrictions, families of transgender youth are increasingly being forced to travel out of state for the care they need at clinics with growing waiting lists.
In the wake of the Texas law, CBS News Texas reported that the Fort Worth church launch the program to help transgender minors travel out of state to receive treatment.
At least 13 states have laws protecting transgender minors.
More than 89,000 transgender people aged 13 to 17 live in states that limit access to gender-affirming care, according to a research letter published in July 2023 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, although not all trans people choose or can afford to change their gender. – affirming treatment.
Gender-affirming treatment for adolescents is supported by major medical organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychiatric Association and the Endocrine Society.
Medical professionals define gender dysphoria as a psychological disorder experienced by people whose gender expression does not match their gender identity. Opponents of gender-affirming treatment say there is no hard evidence of the supposed benefits and say children should not have to make life-changing decisions they will regret.
Texas officials defended the law as necessary to protect children, and noted many other restrictions for minors on tattoos, alcohol, tobacco and certain over-the-counter drugs.
Several doctors who treat transgender children testified in lower court hearings that their patients are at risk of deteriorating mental health, which could lead to suicide, if they are denied safe and effective treatment.
The Texas ban was signed into law by Republican Governor Greg Abbott, who became the first governor to order an investigation into the families of transgender minors receiving gender-affirming treatment.
During legislative debate on the ban in 2023, transgender rights activists disrupted the Texas House with protests from the chamber’s gallery, prompting state police to force protesters to move outside the building.
