- Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill offering protection to youth who are denied gender-affirming care elsewhere
California will now welcome transgender minors and their families from other US states where local authorities have restricted access to gender-affirming therapy, under new legislation signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday.
“We believe that no one should be judged or persecuted for receiving the care they need, including gender-affirming care,”, the official proclaimed in a statement shortly after signing the bill.
The legislation, among other things, prohibits California health care providers from disclosing medical information in connection with laws in other states that prohibit gender-affirming care for minors. In addition to that, the new bill prohibits the execution of a court order”based on the law of another state that authorizes a child to be separated from his or her parent or guardian based on that parent or guardian allowing their child to receive gender-affirming medical care or gender-affirming mental health care.”
As of now, a California court is also authorized to take temporary emergency jurisdiction when a child has been unable to receive gender-affirming medical care elsewhere, typically encompassing measures ranging from mere counseling to hormone therapy. which delays puberty for those who want to change their sex. Some on social media were quick to suggest that this means California courts will be able to take custody of trans children if they flee their home states. However, Asaf Orr of the Transgender Youth Project told Reuters that “this law simply clarifies that courts must retain jurisdiction in situations where a parent brings their child to California so that they can obtain medical treatment for gender dysphoria.”
State Senator Scott Wiener, the bill’s mastermind, tweeted that the new legislation is aimed at protecting minors and their families “if they are being criminalized in their home states.Wiener also criticized the states “like texas and alabama [that] They seek to separate these families.”
In February, Texas Governor Greg Abbott asked the state Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate reported cases of minors receiving gender-affirming care. He also urged ordinary citizens to report such suspicious cases to the authorities.
In Alabama, Governor Kay Ivey signed a bill that would make it a felony for medical professionals to provide gender-affirming health care to people under the age of 19. However, the initiative faced opposition from a local court.
A similar law was passed in Tennessee in May, making the treatment needed to transition between genders out of reach for preteen minors.