Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill into law that would prohibit transgender surgeries and treatments, such as puberty blockers and reassignment surgeries, in Texas for anyone under 18. 

Senate Bill 14 states that no physician or healthcare provider can give or allow puberty blockers for transitioning a child’s biological sex, or doing reassignment surgeries. 

The only exceptions to the practice in the bill are, “puberty suppression or blocking prescription drugs for the purpose of normalizing puberty for a minor experiencing precocious puberty… child who is born with a medically verifiable genetic disorder of sex development…does not have the normal sex chromosome structure for male or female as determined by a physician through genetic testing.”

If someone under 18 is already on puberty blockers, they are to start weaning off of them in a safe manner prescribed by a physician. But they cannot seek alternative treatments.

The penalties for physicians and healthcare providers who violate this law include having their license revoked by the Texas Medical Board and legal action against them by the Texas Attorney General. 

Supporters of the law believe that what teens and children are going through is gender dysphoria and it should not be codified by drugs or surgeries. They believe that these surgeries and drugs are harming children and teens, taking away their right to reproduce. In fact, it is because of that, that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote a legal opinion to Governor Abbott last year that these actions constitute child abuse. 18 years olds may do whatever they want as adults. But supporters of this bill believe that the state should no longer entertain castrating children and giving them drugs that are taking away their right to reproduce.

Opponents of the law say this will harm teens who do not feel comfortable in a gender they do not identify as. They think this will harm their sense of identity, leading to mental health issues. Opponents of the law, who are advocates of the transgender community, claim that surgeries performed on children are rare.

Other bills Abbott is expected to sign are prohibiting drag shows to anyone in Texas under the age of 18. The other is prohibiting transgender athletes in Texas collegiate sports from competing on teams that are not their original biological gender assigned at birth. The only exception to that law is a girl playing on the boy’s team if they do not have the female version of a sport.