Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves (R) signed a new law banning gender-affirming treatment for trans youth on Tuesday amid Republican attacks on the LGBTQ+ community across the state.
Reeves, who is up for re-election this year, said the legislation was intended to combat “a dangerous movement that is spreading across America”, leaning into conservative dog whistles about trans people who doctors say have harmed vulnerable youth.
“It’s a scary thing that kids and, yes, parents who love them,” Reeves said. “They are being taken advantage of, all so that some can push their gender views or appear ‘woke’ to their friends.”
Utah and South Dakota recently passed similar legislation, and at least 150 bills targeting trans people have been introduced in state houses so far this year. Seven states currently prohibit minors from seeking gender-affirming treatment (although judges have blocked such laws in Arkansas and Alabama while the suits progress).
Human rights groups condemned Mississippi’s new law, painting it as a political decision intended to bolster Reeves’ re-election bid.
“This is a horrific attack on LGBTQ+ Mississippians and their families,” Rob Hill, Mississippi state director for the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement. “[Reeves] is in no position to dictate the decisions that doctors and patients make about health care. This is nothing more than an attempt to boost poll numbers ahead of a tough re-election campaign.
Mississippi law takes effect immediately. It prohibits doctors from prescribing puberty-blocking drugs or hormone therapy and bans surgery related to gender transition for anyone younger than 18. Any doctor found violating the ban could lose their medical license, and there is a 30-year statute of limitations for carrying suit to those who break the law.
Leading medical groups have deemed the treatment medically necessary. The American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics have sharply criticized the Republican-led effort, saying the politically charged legislation is based on myths and misinformation about trans youth rather than medicine.
A survey released earlier this month by The Trevor Project found that Republicans’ ongoing attacks on trans youth have caused harm. Among LGBTQ youth sampled in the poll, the majority, 71%, said the debate and restrictive laws affect their mental health, and 29% of trans youth said they do not feel safe going to a doctor or hospital when they are sick or injured.
Reeves previously signed anti-trans legislation into law, a 2021 measure that would ban transgender athletes from competing on women’s or women’s sports teams.