The Texas Supreme Court on Friday upheld the state’s ban on gender transition treatments for children, allowing the Lone Star State to remain one of at least 25 states with restrictions on such treatments and one of the largest.
The law, which comes into force on September 1, 2023, bans hormonal treatment, puberty blockers and sex reassignment surgeries for children under 18 years of age. Children who are already taking these medications are asked to taper off the medications gradually. The law includes exemptions for children in early adolescence or those with “medically provable genetic disorders of sexual development.”
A lawsuit challenging the law claims it harms transgender teens who are barred from receiving gender reassignment treatment recommended by doctors and parents, according to the Associated Press.
The all-Republican court ruled 8-1.
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The Texas Supreme Court on Friday upheld the state’s ban on gender transition therapy for children. (Associated Press)
“We conclude that the Legislature made permissible and reasonable policy choices to limit the types of medical procedures available to children, particularly given the relative newness of gender dysphoria and its various treatment modalities, and the Legislature’s clear Constitutional authority to regulate this practice,” Judge Rebecca Azpuru Heder wrote.
The lone dissenting judge said the court gave states the ability to “legislate away basic parental rights.”
“The state’s express statutory prohibition prevents these parents and many others from consulting with doctors to develop an individualized treatment plan for their children, even if the treatment is potentially life-saving,” Judge Debra Lehrmann wrote. “The law is not only cruel, it is unconstitutional.”
A lower court ruled the law was unconstitutional, but it was allowed to take effect while the state Supreme Court heard the case.
Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton tweeted after the ruling that his office “will use every tool at our disposal to ensure doctors and medical institutions follow the law.”
The law bans hormonal treatment, puberty blockers and sex reassignment surgery for children under 18. (Fox News)
The groups that filed the lawsuit criticized the ruling as harmful to transgender children and their families.
Karen Loewy, senior counsel and director of Lambda Legal’s constitutional law practice, said: “It’s difficult to overstate the devastating impact this ruling will have on Texas’ transgender youth and the families who love and support them.
Ash Hall, LGBTQIA+ rights policy and advocacy strategist at the ACLU of Texas, said the government should not “deny trans youth the health care they need to survive and thrive,” and Adding that “Texas politicians’ obsession with attacking trans children and their children’s families is needlessly cruel.”
Gender transition treatment for transgender children has support from major medical organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychiatric Association, and the Endocrine Society.
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Lawsuits challenging the law say it harms transgender youth by preventing them from receiving gender transition treatments recommended by doctors and parents. (Alison Dinner/AFP Getty Images)
A judge rejected the medical group’s position, saying it was irrelevant to the constitutionality of the Texas law.
“The fact that expert witnesses or influential interest groups such as the American Psychiatric Association disagreed with the Legislature’s decision is completely irrelevant to the constitutional issue,” Justice James Blacklock wrote in a unanimous opinion. “The Texas Constitution empowers the Legislature to regulate ‘medical practitioners.'”
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At a lower court hearing, several doctors who treat transgender children testified that if they are denied treatment, patients may face worsening mental health conditions that could lead to suicide.
Texas officials said the law is needed to protect children and pointed to several other restrictions aimed at keeping minors safe, including on tattoos, alcohol, tobacco and certain over-the-counter drugs.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
