Utah step closer to banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors

A bill to prevent doctors from providing gender-affirming care to transgender youth has cruised through the state Senate and now goes to the Utah House for debate.

The Utah Senate gave final passage to a bill aiming to crack down on the ability of doctors to prescribe hormone therapy for minors who are transgender. The legislation, Senate Bill 16, would also enact an outright ban on body-altering surgeries, such as mastectomies, for transgender youth.

The bill has cruised through the Senate quickly during the first week of the 2023 general session.

State Sen. Mike Kennedy, R-Alpine, a physician by trade and the bill’s sponsor, said he understands some of his colleagues may disagree with his legislation.

“We all approach this with compassion, kindness and consideration. But we come to different conclusions. That’s the nature of different opinions, and it’s the nature of the political process,” Kennedy said.

In 2021, Kennedy wrote a letter to the editor published in The Salt Lake Tribune pushing back against COVID restrictions and vaccinations. In the letter, Kennedy argued that the government should not “usurp the power of parents” when deciding the best course of action for their children.

When asked about the 2021 letter during a news conference after the vote, Kennedy says his stances on parental rights and COVID restrictions are consistent with his policy goals contained in this year’s Transgender Medical Treatments and Procedures Amendments bill.

“When it comes to that, I do trust parents and taking care of their children. But there is no regulation right now in this area of transgender health care, and this bill does a great job bringing a regulatory framework so that our children are cared for in the safest, most effective fashion,” Kennedy said.

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