Bill Approved to Limit Treatment for Transgender Youth
A bill sent to the Senate in South Dakota would penalize physicians who provide treatments for transgender youth. Lawmakers from other states are considering similar bills as advocacy groups stand in opposition. Read on to learn about the debate around House Bill 1057.
South Dakota’s House of Representatives approved a bill, on February 29th, that would criminalize physicians who treat transgender children with hormones and sex reassignment surgeries. The Vulnerable Child Protection Act will now be sent to the state’s Senate for a committee hearing. Rep. Fred Deutsch, the bill’s primary sponsor, explains the legislation will protect vulnerable children who “are being chemically castrated, sterilized and surgical mutilated.
South Dakota’s House of Representatives is the first state to pass a bill to restrict medical treatment for trangender teens. However, more than half a dozen state houses are considering similar bills.
House Bill 1057
Under the bill, it would be a Class 1 misdemeanor for a physician to prescribe hormone replacement therapy or perform sex reassignment surgery to youth under the age of 16. This includes:
Performing a mastectomy
Gender affirming surgery (vasectomy, penectomy, vaginoplasty and others)
Prescribing, dispensing or administering puberty blocking medication, supraphysiologic doses of testosterone to females and supraphysiologic doses of estrogen to males
Removing any healthy or non-diseased body part or tissue.
The penalty would be a maximum of 1 year in jail and a fine of $2,000. Nurses would be exempt from prosecution.
The Debate
Republicans and Democrats debate represent a larger culture war with conflicting values, beliefs and practices. The debate is bigger than just the medical issues and extends into parenting and the role of physicians.
Opposition to the Bill
Parents, many members of the medical community and advocates of transgender youths make the following arguments (although there are many more) in opposition to House Bill 1057:
The bill is a form of discrimination that would withhold life saving treatment
The bill is unconstitutional and the decision about gender expression should be between the youth, parent and doctor.
Sex assignment surgeries and are rarely performed on youth
Puberty blockers, requiring parental consent and extensive counseling, are reversible
Libby Skarin, policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota, issued a statement after the vote, stating “By blocking medical care supported by every major medical association, the legislature is compromising the health of trans youth in dangerous and potentially life-threatening ways.”
A conservative Christian organization, Liberty Counsel, has offered legal counsel to defend bill, at no cost to state taxpayers.
Proponents of the Bill
Lawmakers supporting the bill make debate these points (among others):
Need to protect youth from making life altering changes until they are old enough to consider all available options
Too young to understand the potential consequences
Sex-reassigment surgery and administration in youth are harmful, abusive and criminal acts
The website https://hb1057.com/, promotes Deutsch’s bill and features resources and videos from the Heritage Foundation, the Minnesota Family Council, a Christian organization.
For Thought
In 2018, the American Nurses Association released a position statement, Nursing Advocacy for LGBTQ+ Populations and applied the nursing code of ethics to this population.
Quote
“..nurses must advocate for patient centered treatment, equal access, equal services, and equal resources for all populations that may be adversely affected by bias or prejudice. Nurses have an ethical duty to honor and respect the identities, beliefs, values, and decisions of all patients.”
Specializes in Surgical Specialty Clinic - Ambulatory Care.
On 12/16/2021 at 6:21 PM, DavidFR said:
What a strange and wholly inaccurate statement. Are you taking out your hurt feelings on gay and trans people by any chance?
There is no hierarchy of bullying. All bullying is wrong and nobody claims to have the monopoly on it.
I won't lecture you on red-haired prejudice because I don't know what it's like to walk this earth with red hair. You're the expert; I take your word for it and I would never belittle your experiences and your hurt.
I won't lecture trans people on transphobia because I'm cisgender and I have never lived through the trans experience. I'm not the expert.
If you are not homosexual don't lecture me on homophobia, because I have lived with homophobia all my life and believe me, teenage homophobic bullying is a very serious matter. On that believe me honey, I'm the expert as a gay man.
Bullying is bad. Bullying is also part of living in a society…any society. Allowing youths who barely know themselves to have surgical procedures to change themselves to what they want to be before they learn to deal with themselves AND society is a poor idea. No one under 18 should be allowed to have any surgery merely to look how they wish to.
No, I’m not taking my hurt feelings out on anyone. I’m 40 and worked through the pain of the horrific bullying I experienced and learned to accept myself. But that remains my point, work through it, but quit using it as a sole reason everyone should accept the way one group of people want the world to change. Bullying is never going to be gone, hopefully it will be less violent.
Specializes in Surgical Specialty Clinic - Ambulatory Care.
On 12/16/2021 at 11:18 AM, RuralMOSchoolRN said:
Medscape recently had an article regarding transgender teens and young people and guidelines for surgical procedures. An interesting research study is in the article...
The most recent published data seen by Medscape Medical News relates to a study from March 2021 that showed nearly 88% of boys who struggled with gender identity in childhood (approximate mean age 8 years and follow-up at approximate mean age 20 years) desisted. It reads: "Of the 139 participants, 17 (12.2%) were classified as 'persisters' and the remaining 122 (87.8%) were classified as desisters."
"Most children with gender dysphoria will desist and lose their concept of themselves as being the opposite gender," Mason explains.
Specializes in Oncology, ID, Hepatology, Occy Health.
2 hours ago, KalipsoRed21 said:
Bullying is bad.
So why do it? When you say, and I quote:
", but because the homosexual and transgendered seem to feel they have a monopoly on being abused by teenaged peers."
..that is a very bullying, innacurate statement which totally belittles the experiences of homosexual and transgendered teenagers.
The rest of your post sumply regurgitates past points, hence I will regurgitate that neither I nor the video I posted advocated surgery for minors but other reversabletreatments.
Again I refer you to the above quoted paper which puts into question the types of research you accept blindly regarding post gender reassignment expereinces.
Specializes in Surgical Specialty Clinic - Ambulatory Care.
4 hours ago, DavidFR said:
So why do it? When you say, and I quote:
", but because the homosexual and transgendered seem to feel they have a monopoly on being abused by teenaged peers."
..that is a very bullying, innacurate statement which totally belittles the experiences of homosexual and transgendered teenagers.
The rest of your post sumply regurgitates past points, hence I will regurgitate that neither I nor the video I posted advocated surgery for minors but other reversabletreatments.
Again I refer you to the above quoted paper which puts into question the types of research you accept blindly regarding post gender reassignment expereinces.
", but because the homosexual and transgendered seem to feel they have a monopoly on being abused by teenaged peers."
So sorry David, let me fix this statement for you. Homosexual and transgendered people do not have a monopoly on being abused by teenaged peers and bullying is a poor excuse to allow surgical intervention. Bullying is part of life and it will be forevermore.
Specializes in Oncology, ID, Hepatology, Occy Health.
19 hours ago, KalipsoRed21 said:
", but because the homosexual and transgendered seem to feel they have a monopoly on being abused by teenaged peers."
So sorry David, let me fix this statement for you. Homosexual and transgendered people do not have a monopoly on being abused by teenaged peers and bullying is a poor excuse to allow surgical intervention. Bullying is part of life and it will be forevermore.
Again you rant on about surgery. Nobody is advocating surgery for minors. Surgery for grown adults who have been medically and psychologically assessed is another matter.
Now let me fix you on your statement. I never claimed homosexual teenagers have the monopoly on being bullied. Nor have I seen gays or trans people claim they have a monopoly on being bullied. I have seen gays and trans people quite rightfully talk abut their distress at having been bullied as teenagers, just as you quite rightfully express your feelings about having been bullied for having red hair. I would never belittle your experiences. However when you incorrectly say:
", but because the homosexual and transgendered seem to feel they have a monopoly on being abused by teenaged peers."
you belittle both the gay and the trans experience. This is just like the racist that tells the black person they have a chip on their shoulder, all is OK really. This is just like the misogynist who tells the little woman to know her place and stop being silly. This IS bullying in itself.
Scream all you wish that you're neither homophobic nor transphobic, and possibly you're not, however when you put things in this way, that is sure how it seems.
KalipsoRed21, BSN, RN
495 Posts
Bullying is bad. Bullying is also part of living in a society…any society. Allowing youths who barely know themselves to have surgical procedures to change themselves to what they want to be before they learn to deal with themselves AND society is a poor idea. No one under 18 should be allowed to have any surgery merely to look how they wish to.
No, I’m not taking my hurt feelings out on anyone. I’m 40 and worked through the pain of the horrific bullying I experienced and learned to accept myself. But that remains my point, work through it, but quit using it as a sole reason everyone should accept the way one group of people want the world to change. Bullying is never going to be gone, hopefully it will be less violent.