Mississippi Senate passes ban on transgender surgeries for minors

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The Republican-controlled Mississippi Senate gave final approval Tuesday to a bill that would ban gender-affirming care in the state for anyone younger than 18.

House Bill 1125 will go to Republican Gov. Tate Reeves, who is running for reelection and has indicated he will sign it into law. In 2021, Reeves signed a law to ban transgender athletes from competing in girls’ or women’s sports.

Nationally, conservatives are pushing dozens of proposals in statehouses to restrict transgender athletes, gender-affirming care and drag shows. The Republican governor of Utah recently signed a ban on gender-affirming care into law, and judges have temporarily blocked similar laws in Arkansas and Alabama.

The vote in the Mississippi Senate came less than a week after transgender teenagers, their families and others who support them protested against the bill.

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A protester holds a poster calling for lawmakers to vote against House Bill 1125, which would ban gender-affirming care for trans children at the Mississippi Capitol in Jackson, on Feb. 15, 2023.  (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

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Jensen Luke Matar, executive director of the Mississippi-based Transgender Resources Advocacy Network and Services Program, denounced the bill in a statement Tuesday.

"Mississippi lawmakers are insisting that they know what’s best for transgender youth and ignoring the recommendations of every major medical association," Matar said. "Patients, along with their health care providers — not politicians –- should decide what medical care is in the best interest of a patient. I know from years of working directly with trans youth in Mississippi that they need support, love, and affirmation – not this brazen political attack that cuts off their access to life-saving care."

House Bill 1125 passed the Senate 33-15. It passed Republican-led Mississippi House 78-30 on Jan. 19.