Texas Senate panel advances bill that would hinder transgender kids’ access to puberty blockers and hormone therapies

BY ALEX NGUYEN / The Texas Tribune MARCH 20, 20234 PM CENTRAL

Senate Bill 14 would ban doctors from providing kids with transition-related treatments that medical groups recommend for children with gender dysphoria.

The Texas Senate will likely soon consider a bill that would bar physicians from providing transition-related treatments — like puberty blockers and hormone therapies — to transgender Texas kids.

The Senate State Affairs Committee on Monday advanced Senate Bill 14 in a party-line vote, with all Republican members supporting the measure. A priority piece of legislation for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the bill would ban therapies that major medical groups recommend for kids with gender dysphoria, the distress someone can feel when their physical body does not align with their gender identity. SB 14 would also prohibit transition-related surgeries for minors, though medical experts say such procedures are rarely, if ever, performed on children.

The committee passed the measure in a 7-3 voice vote, but an eighth Republican registered a vote in support in writing, a legislative staffer later said. The vote came shortly after LGBTQ advocacy groups and hundreds of people rallied outside the Capitol against the bill and several others that would affect queer Texans. Several openly LGBTQ state representatives — including Democratic Reps. Jolanda Jones, Venton Jones, Christian Manuel and Jessica González — vowed to protect the community through their legislative work in the House.