Texas becomes the largest US state to ban medical aid for transgender minors

New transphobic offensive led by conservatives. The governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, promulgated a law on Friday June 2 prohibiting the provision of medical aid to transgender minors, further widening in the United States the restrictions on access to treatment for the young people concerned.

Greg Abbott thus aligns himself with a position already adopted by the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, also a Republican, who had enacted similar legislation in May. Texas and Florida are the second and third most populous states in the United States.

Prohibition of surgical procedures

Texas law prohibits medical professionals from prescribing hormone-blocking drugs or performing sex-altering surgery on anyone under the age of 18. It will come into effect on September 1. The legislation includes an exception for minor children already receiving hormone-blocking drugs or undergoing hormone therapy. But in this case it requires medical withdrawal over an appropriate time.

Democrats have denounced human rights abuses and on Friday the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas announced legal proceedings against the new law. The governor “Abbott can’t stop trans youth from thriving in Texas – and we’ll sue him to make sure”said this organization on Twitter.

A dozen American states led by a Republican have decided on restrictions against transgender minors. In March, Democratic President Joe Biden estimated that such “attacks” against transgender rights were “un-American and had to stop”.