Many states have, or are in the process of, banning gender-affirming care for transgendered kids, even if the parents support and have approved such care for their child. According to the New York Times (Gift Article):
Amid all this legislation lurks the sharpest threat to families like the Neisses: aggressive efforts to outlaw what’s known as gender-affirming care for minors — a range of interventions from talk therapy and social transition, such as adopting a name, clothing style or pronoun without any medical treatment, to puberty blockers and, for older kids, hormones. Conservative lawmakers tend to dabble in lurid insinuations about mastectomies and genital surgery, but, according to doctors, surgery administered to minors is rare […]
I could understand all the calls for banning gender-affirming care for kids IF the care was being provided *without* the parents knowledge or against their wishes. That would just be common sense. If, however, the parents are aware of what is happening and have given their permission for their child to receive such care, then the government should just butt out. This, like abortion, is another situation that should be decided by the patient, their parents (if the patient is a minor) and their doctor(s).
Now that they’ve gained a foothold in anti-transgender regulation regarding children, extreme right-wing politicians and legislatures are escalating their attacks. New legislation is being proposed in many states that would prohibit gender-affirming care for adults up to the age of 26. So far.
Across the country, Republican-led efforts include seeking to ban or restrict gender-affirming care for people into adulthood or placing barriers for adults trying to access such care. […]
In Oklahoma, a proposed bill would make it a felony for anyone under the age of 26 to access gender-affirming care in the state. […]
In Virginia, a proposed bill would ban gender-affirming surgeries for people under the age of 21. The legislation was amended to remove bans on hormone therapies.
It also states that in order for someone over the age of 21 “to receive gender transition procedures, he must first obtain a referral from his primary care physician and a referral from a licensed psychiatrist.”
DeSantis asked to see the records of any student who has experienced gender dysphoria in the past five years. In addition, he wants their ages and the dates they received gender-affirming care. The deadline to submit those records was February 10.
Some politicians claim that these laws that aim to determine whether—and when – someone can receive gender-affirming care, are needed because people may regret having undergone such care later in life, while ignoring that such incidents are rare.
“I think making a decision to permanently alter your body to remove a healthy body part is much more serious than buying a beer,” said Peake, a Republican.
He later continued, “There have been a lot of people who have come out who have had these surgeries and have indicated that they regret it.”
Research shows that rates of regret for gender-affirming procedures are extremely low — estimates are around 1%. Rates of regret for knee and hip replacement surgeries are much higher than gender affirmation surgery, according to studies.
Some states even want to make it possible to sue doctors who provide gender-affirming care if, down the road, a patient decides they regret having received it.