CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) – On January 1, 2024, legislation prohibiting gender-affirming care for children under the age of 18 went into effect in West Virginia.
Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV) signed the legislation in March 2023, according to U.S. News & World Report, joining 19 other states that have imposed restrictions on gender-affirming care for transgender individuals under the age of 18.
The bill prohibits adolescents from receiving hormone therapy and puberty blockers, as reported by the Associated Press. There are some exceptions; if a person has been diagnosed by two or more health or mental health professionals or is at risk of self-harm or suicide, the doctor may prescribe the treatment.
House Bill 2007 was passed by the West Virginia House of Delegates in February 2023 with a vote of 84 to 10. Only two people spoke in favor of the bill during a public hearing, and 79 people opposed it.
Sen. Tom Takubo (R-Kanawha, Senate Majority Leader), a doctor, added an amendment to the act that allowed minors to receive treatment if they had been diagnosed by two or more medical or mental health providers, with at least one of them having appropriate training in gender dysphoria in adolescents. With two abstentions, the act was approved 20 to 12.
Sen. Mike Maroney (R-Marshall) expressed concern about legislating medical practice. “We are primarily pro-life in this Caucus. These 30 children commit suicide,” he said, predicting potential harm from the bill. “Who are we if we win an election and start dictating who practices medicine and who receives new treatments? It’s astonishing.”
Sen. Mike Azinger (R-Wood) called the act “dangerous” and “wrong.”
Sen. Azinger argued that “a self-evident truth planted in the heart of man can tell mankind – by nature – that surgeries to change sex or attempts to do so are a fist in the face of the creator.” He also stated, “It is self-evident that when you obstruct a young person’s healthy development, which we often call puberty blockers, you are doing something that is obviously wrong and dangerous.”
Sen. Patricia Rucker (R-Jefferson) proposed an amendment that would require any medical professional dispensing gender-affirming medications to report to the Bureau of Vital Statistics without using any data to identify the patient. It was deemed bill-unfit.
Sen. Maroney added a few provisions to another amendment that would take effect on January 1, 2024. This was approved on the Senate Floor by a voice vote.
This act, passed by the 2023 Legislature, was highly contentious. Proponents of the bill argue that transgender children are too young to make informed decisions, while critics point to high suicide attempt rates among transgender youth.
This report was compiled by the Associated Press.
