Gender Affirming Surgery Ban Introduced in West Virginia House of Delegates
HB 2007 has been introduced and would ban gender affirming surgery for those under the age of 18
HB 2007 claims to be protecting youth from invasive procedures - procedures that are already not recommend by doctors and simply not performed. Much like the SCAM Act, which is rumored to be introduced next week, this bill intends to stir up fear, relying on ignorance and transphobia. While HB 2007 bill has not hit a Committee agenda yet, it is expected to by mid to late next week. Again like SCAM Act and other bills targeted against the LGBTQ+ community, this bill is filled with misinformation.
In reality, we have data from over a dozen studies that include more than 30,000 trans and gender-diverse youth and young adults that consistently shows access to gender-affirming care is associated with better mental and emotional health - that the lack of reliable care ties into higher rates of suicidality, self-harm, depression, and anxious behavior. Major medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the Endocrine Society, the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association, have all written policy-based statements and guidelines on how to provide age-appropriate gender-affirming care. All of these medical organizations find such care to be evidence-based and medically appropriate.
Both the AAP and Endocrine Society guidelines call for developmentally appropriate care, which means no puberty blockers or hormones until the patients are already undergoing puberty for their assigned sex at birth. The medications that are used to pause the patient’s puberty and prevent unwanted to changes to their bodies, for example: menstrual cycles for AFAB individuals, voice deepening for AMAB individuals. The usage of puberty blockers are intended to give the patient ample time to decide what they would like to do next on their journey. At any point, the patient can stop taking puberty blockers, continuing to go through the puberty of their assigned sex at birth. Upon the patient reaching later years in their adolescence, some may request sex hormone treatments - such as estrogen and testosterone. The usage of these medications can help a transgender person’s body align to their gender identity. Since these treatments are partly irreversible which is why the Endocrine Society recommends waiting to begin treatment until after the patient has “sufficient mental capacity to give informed consent,” - which is widely medically believed to be at the age of 16.
The Delegates and Senators pushing these bills have made numerous claims that transgender youth and young adults are undergoing genital affirming surgeries at young ages. This is false. Under current medical guidelines, patients are not recommended to undergo gender affirming genital surgery before the age of 18. While top surgery can be performed on transgender patients before the age of 18 in the United States, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health’s guidelines clear state that this surgery is preferred “after ample time of living in the desired gender role and after one year of testosterone treatment.”
The data doesn’t lie: studies show that the effects of denying gender-affirming care are far worse than whatever potential side effects result from delaying assigned sex at birth puberty. The guidelines from numerous, reputable medical organizations have concluded that the benefits of a patient obtaining gender-affirming care greatly outweigh the risks. According to a study that was published in the JAMA Network Open in February of 2022, it was found that those who had access to gender-affirming hormones and puberty blockers were 60 percent less likely to experience moderate to severe depression. Those who had access to medical treatment were 73 percent less likely to contemplate suicide or self-harm.
While not all trans people desire surgery or gender-affirming hormones to feel affirmed in their identity, the option should not be stripped away for those that do. The lawmakers introducing these bills do not have the right to decide what is best for a transgender person - they do not have the right to dictate medical care or to overrule a person’s chosen care around their body.
Again, HB 2007 is expected to be on the Health and Human Resources Committee agenda mid to late next week. From there, it will be decided if the bill should be moved to the House floor.
Stay safe.