Bills focused on transgender youth get ok from Senate committee, will now go to full chamber

SALT LAKE CITY — Wednesday afternoon, three bills centered on transgender youth passed their first hurdles on Capitol Hill.

One bill, banning transgender-related surgery for minors, was the first to pass.

The Utah Senate committee gave the full chamber permission to hear the bill that would ban doctors from performing transgender-related surgery on minors. Furthermore, the bill would pause any new hormone treatments for minors beginning May 2023. 

Sen. Mike Kennedy, R-Alpine, is sponsoring the bill. 

“We can’t allow social policy to outpace science, the permanence of the consequences is too great. We need to ask again, these questions. Can a child appropriately give consent? Does a child completely understand the implications of their choice? And will the child be pleased with their choice for the remainder of their lives,” Kennedy told KSL NewsRadio. 

Although Democrats have tried to push for a reassessment, the committee would not pass finding a date to do so. 

Sen. Jen Plumb, D- Salt Lake City, who is also a pediatric emergency medicine physician, shared words of encouragement for those who oppose the bill. 

“You are heard and you are valued and you are loved. And parents are not abusing their children in my opinion as a mandatory child abuse reporter,” said Dr. Plumb

The same committee also passed two other bills Wednesday afternoon. One would require schools to alert parents when a child asks to use a different name. The other bans minors from changing the information on their birth certificates, even with the permission of their parents. 

Now, the full Senate will address the bills.

Related reading: Senate committee gives ok for chamber to hear bill on transgender-related surgeries