In the Spotlight
Frank BergmanJune 3, 2023
From Slay News

Texas has just become the largest state in the nation to ban life-altering transgender treatments and surgeries for children.
Republican Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill into law on Friday that protects minors from being put through irreversible sex-change procedures.
The bill, SB 14, bans children from undergoing surgical procedures or being given puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.
Dubbed āgender-affirming careā by the Left, the procedures often include ābottom surgeryā which involves surgically removing or altering kidsā genitals.
So-called ātop surgeryā is a codeword for a double mastectomy for girls who āidentifyā as boys, previously referred to as ātomboys.ā
SB 14 also prohibits state dollars from being used to fund such procedures for children.
āIf there comes a time when a profession such as the medical profession cannot regulate itself to protect patients ā protect children ā then the government needs to step in,ā said state Senator Donna Campbell, the author of the bill, during a previous debate on the issue.
āOur children need counseling and love, not blades and drugs,ā she added.
With Abbottās signature, the Lone Star State joins at least 18 other states that have banned transgender surgeries for minors.
Many states have prohibited both surgical and chemical procedures.
The Texas law says that the procedures are prohibited āfor the purpose of transitioning a childās biological sex as determined by the sex organs, chromosomes, and endogenous profiles of the child or affirming the childās perception of the childās sex if that perception is inconsistent with the childās biological sex.ā
The legislation took a while to get through both chambers of the Texas legislature as Democrats used parliamentary tactics to stall it.
Notably, Democrat Rep. Shawn Thierry voted for the bill, citing scientific evidence showing the long-term impacts of transgender procedures.
Thierry said in a statement that she voted to ban minors from receiving āGnRH-analogs, (i.e. āpuberty blockersā), cross-sex hormones, and to undergo irreversible surgeries when experiencing gender dysphoriaā after speaking with constituents and āreviewing the scientific data in this country and around the globe.ā
Left-wing legal groups, like Lambda Legal and the ACLU of Texas, have threatened to take legal action against the Texas law.
āTransgender people have always been here and will always be here,ā said Ash Hall of the ACLU of Texas.
āOur trans youth deserve a world where they can shine alongside their peers, and we will keep advocating for that world in and out of the courts.ā
The law comes after a report alleged that a childrenās hospital in Houston was performing transgender procedures on children as young as 11.
According to whistleblower documents obtained by City Journalās Christopher Rufo, Texas Childrenās Hospital, the largest childrenās hospital in the U.S., inserted an implantable puberty blocker in multiple children, including at least one 11-year-old.
