The State of Wyoming officially passed a law that bans the use of gender transitioning surgeries and puberty blockers on minors. Passed by the state’s senate on March 22 and signed into law by Governor Mark Gordon, the installation of Senate File 99 (SF99) brings the number of states with such protections to children at 24.
According to local Wyoming outlet WYO4 News, the law is known as the “children gender change prohibition.” In a press release, Gov. Gordon explained his choice to sign the bill:
“I signed SF99 because I support the protections this bill includes for children. However, it is my belief that the government is straying into the personal affairs of families,” Gordon added. “Our legislature needs to sort out its intentions with regard to parental rights. While it inserts governmental prerogative in some places, it affirms parental rights in others.”
The law states that “gender transitioning and reassignment procedures are grounds for suspension or revocation of a physician's or health care provider's license …” It does, however, include exceptions in cases of a child “born with a medically verifiable genetic disorder of sex development.”
The law makes it clear that any exception to the rule must be conducted only with the consent of parents or guardians. The law does not prevent minors from pursuing mental health professionals for care, but it does prevent mental health workers from proposing gender transitioning surgery or medication.
On the same day, Governor Gordon vetoed House Bill 148: Regulation of Abortions. The governor’s office noted that this bill was originally designed to properly regulate abortions within the state, but was rejected due to amendments. Gov. Gordon believed that these amendments would have opened the law up to legal challenges. He said that the passage of a bill with such holes “would, in my mind, be derelict and would have only sacrificed additional unborn lives in Wyoming.”
