Since the beginning of 2021, many states have proposed bills that not only target the health of transgender people, but transgender youth in particular. The bill’s in question either prohibit healthcare such as medical or surgical procedures for gender affirmation or attempt to classify any kind of gender affirming care for transgender youth as professional misconduct, or worst of all, child abuse.
Montana, with HB 427, prohibits "surgical procedures for the treatment of gender dysphoria in minors", but does not prohibit puberty blocking drugs, cross-sex hormones, or "other nonsurgical procedures that prevent the development of feminizing or masculinizing features or promote the development of feminizing or masculinizing features in the opposite." as written in the bill proposal.
Tennessee has HB 578/SB 657 which prohibits sexual identity change therapy provided to a minor who has not yet entered puberty. If the minor has entered puberty they must have a signed letter of recommendation from two or more licensed physicians, with at least one physician who is board-certified in child and adolescent psychiatry a signed by the parents of said minor. This would result in a class A misdemeanor, which is up to 12 months in jail or a 2,500 dollar fine.
Those are the tame bill proposals.
New Hampshire and Texas have HB 68, which would take the extra step to impose criminal penalties on doctors as well as parents if evidence of gender affirming care was found. However, The New Hampshire House and Children & Family Law committee unanimously recommended that the bill not move forward in General court.
South Carolina, Missouri, and Arkansas all prohibit the medical and surgical treatment of transgender youth for the purpose of gender reassignment, even criminalizing merely referring those under eighteen for necessary medical care.
In Arkansas, the bill is awaiting a hearing in front of the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor committee.
Utah, Alabama and Arizona’s bills would prohibit gender affirming surgery and therapy to transgender people under 18 with, Arizona going so far as to proposing to make it a class 2 felony, punishable by up to 12 years in prison.
Gender affirming as child abuse/ violation of professional conduct:
Utah (HB 92) prohibits medical professionals from performing transgender procedures on a minor.
Alabama (HB1) prohibits gender change therapy for minors, prohibits withholding certain related information from parents
Arizona would make it a class 2 felony-which is punishable to up to twelve years in prison, for a healthcare professional to provide gender affirming care to transgender youth.
Whether or not these bills will be made into laws is up in the air at the moment, however, the fact that they were proposed in the first place shows how much control cisgender politicians believe they should have over the bodies of children.
The Human Rights campaign has links to petitions for each state to take action against these bills and keep transgendered children safe and well-cared for (as well-cared for as they can be in a post-trump America).
Those links can be found here.