Governor Cox signed a bill on March 19th that bans healthcare professionals from providing puberty blockers and other cross-sex hormones to minors, turning the 2023 moratorium on such treatment into a permanent ban.
In the 2023 legislative session, a law was passed that both banned sex-change surgeries on minors and paused new hormone treatments for minors. The newly enacted bill further addresses the hormone treatment pause by making the ban indefinite. The only exceptions allowed for in the bill are cases where hormones are being administered for the purpose of discontinuing treatment. Doctors overseeing such cases must work towards complete discontinuation by January 28th, 2027, at which point the provision of treatment must cease entirely. Medical providers who violate these rules will be held liable for “unprofessional conduct,” which could lead to disciplinary action by licensing boards.
House Bill 174, titled “Sex Characteristic Change Treatment Amendments,” was sponsored by Representative Rex Shipp and carried in the Senate by Senator Daniel McCay. It passed the Utah House 53-15 and the Senate 20-6, largely along party lines. The only members to break from their party were Republicans Leah Hansen and Norman Thurston, who both voted against the bill in the House of Representatives.
As HB174 was approved by two-thirds of all members in both the House and Senate, it took effect immediately after being signed by the Governor on Thursday, March 19th.
Cover Photo Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/utahreps/50953016178/
