Texas elected officials voted on Wednesday to ban minors from gender transitional care, such as hormonal or surgical treatment, while Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a similar text.
These texts, adopted in two Republican states, are a new example of the conservative offensive on LGBTQ+ issues.
In Texas, the law would prohibit doctors from performing such care. An exception is provided for minors already undergoing treatment, but they must gradually “wean” off it, according to the document.
To become law, the text must still be signed by the Republican Governor, Greg Abbott, which seems to be a formality given his positions on the subject.
Last year, he ordered his administration to investigate parents whose children receive such treatment, equating it with child abuse. This had caused families to flee the state.
If the text is enacted, Texas, the second most populous American state, would also be the largest to have adopted such a policy. But not the only one.
Similar law in Florida
Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida – the third state in number of inhabitants -, signed a law on Wednesday, voted in early May, which prohibits hormonal and surgical treatments of gender transition to minors.
The Republican, seen as a very likely candidate for the 2024 presidential election, compared these medical acts to “mutilation”.
“This is an attack on freedom,” denounced Joe Saunders, of the association Equality Florida, which defends LGBTQ + rights. “Free states do not take away from parents the right to decide what care their children will receive. »
In total, about fifteen states have adopted restrictions of this type.
Other laws attack the discussion of gender at school, the use of non-gendered pronouns by minors or even drag queen shows, deemed too sexualized by conservatives.
Illustration of the divisions of American society, Democratic states have on the contrary promised to be “sanctuaries” for young trans people.