On Tuesday, the GOP-controlled Senate in the state of Mississippi passed House Bill 1125, which will ban “gender reassignment” surgery and hormone replacement therapy for minors. The bill has completed its legislative journey, with the Mississippi House of Representatives having already passed the bill in January.
Governor Tate Reeves, a Republican, has already vowed to sign the bill when it hits his desk. In 2021, Reeves signed a law prohibiting so-called transgender athletes from competing in girls’ sports in the Magnolia State.
Called the Regulate Experimental Adolescent Procedures, or REAP, Act, the new law will prohibit gender-reassignment surgeries and drug therapies, including hormone replacement treatments, for anyone under the age of 18.
In addition, the new law will prohibit insurers and Medicaid from reimbursing for transgender therapies for children and could potentially strip physicians who perform those procedures of Mississippi’s generous tort claims protections.
The bill passed by a 33-15 margin in the Senate. January’s House vote was even more one-sided, passing by a 78-30 margin mostly along party lines.
It’s the second such state ban announced in the last two weeks. Last week, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem signed that state’s Help Not Harm Bill, which also puts strict limits on what physicians may do to children in the name of “gender-affirming care” in that state.
Predictably, transgender activists were outraged by the news.
“Mississippi lawmakers are insisting that they know what’s best for transgender youth and ignoring the recommendations of every major medical association,” said Jensen Luke Matar of the Mississippi-based Transgender Resources Advocacy Network and Services Program. “Patients, along with their health care providers — not politicians — should decide what medical care is in the best interest of a patient. I know from years of working directly with trans youth in Mississippi that they need support, love, and affirmation — not this brazen political attack that cuts off their access to life-saving care.”
“Patients, along with their health care providers” — Since the bill is only about children, the group completely discounts parents when it comes to the healthcare of their children. Talk about a “brazen political attack.”
And as far as being “life-saving” healthcare, transgender therapy is the very definition of elective healthcare; to call it “life-saving” is just a lie.
The ACLU in Mississippi urged Reeves to veto the legislation.
“House Bill 1125 bans access to life-saving medical care. The bill effectively prohibits medical treatment for individuals under 18 years of age diagnosed with gender dysphoria, including gender-affirming hormone therapy. By outlawing healthcare treatment supported by every major medical association in the United States, the bill compromises the health and well-being of Mississippi youth,” the state’s ACLU said in a statement.
The ACLU practically promised legal action against Mississippi in its statement, saying that “numerous courts across the United States have enjoined laws similar to House Bill 1125, finding that they violate equal protection and due process.”
Senate Republicans were quick to point out that once a person reaches 18 years of age, they are free to mangle their God-given bodies in whatever way they wish.
“I just want everyone to be very crystal clear: Once you’re 18 if this bill becomes law … this bill would recognize you can have any procedure on your body you want to,” said Republican Senator Joey Fillingane during floor debate. “So what we’re really talking about here are these procedures for persons 17 years of age and under.”
Others pointed out that the new law is protective of children, especially with cases of transition regret becoming more common.
“To me it’s about taking a wait-and-see approach to make sure that these kids are what they think they are,” Republican Representative Nick Bain, who made a floor pitch in favor of the bill, said. “The child still has the right, the ability to live as any gender they want, then when they turn 18 they can make that decision.”
More and more, children are becoming victims of societal pressure to be seen as something other than white and straight. Consider the case of Chloe Cole, a young Californian who found herself pressured to be something other than what she was — a young female.
“I started being exposed to a lot of LGBT content and activism,” Cole told the New York Post. “I saw how trans people online got an overwhelming amount of support, and the amount of praise they were getting really spoke to me because, at the time, I didn’t really have a lot of friends of my own.”
Transgender therapies often have permanent effects. It’s not something anyone should rush into, and it’s not a decision for children to make. States such as Mississippi, South Dakota, and several others see that. But states such as California continue to allow transgender therapies for kids despite the obvious risks.
