Mississippi governor signs bill to ban gender-affirming care for minors

Feb. 28 (UPI) -- Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves on Tuesday signed a bill into law that bans gender-affirming care for minors effective immediately.

The legislation bars healthcare professionals from providing surgical procedures or medication for a gender transition to a person younger than 18, a press release from the governor said.

"At the end of the day, there are two positions here. One tells children that they're beautiful the way they are. That they can find happiness in their own bodies," Reeves said in a statement.

"The other tells them that they should take drugs and cut themselves up with expensive surgeries in order to find freedom from depression," Reeves said. I know which side I'm on. No child in Mississippi will have these drugs or surgeries pushed upon them."

Reeves has directed legislation at the trans community before. In 2021, he signed a bill to bar trans athletes from participating in girls' and women's sports in Mississippi, the Sun Herald reports.

Mississippi follows five other other conservative states to have a law on the books barring gender-affirming treatments. Several more have legislation pending. In January, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed a nearly identical bill to ban gender-affirming surgeries and medication therapy for minors.

Cox noted that the bill he signed is "not perfect," but he found it to be "thoughtful and nuanced." The bill was introduced by Sen. Mike Kennedy.

"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," Cox said.

The American Medical Association has condemned conservative politicians for attempting to place limits on the access to gender-affirming care. In 2021, board member Michael Suk said the organization "opposes the dangerous intrusion of government into the practice of medicine and the criminalization of health care decision-making."

""Gender-affirming care is medically-necessary, evidence-based care that improves the physical and mental health of transgender and gender-diverse people," Suk added.