A new bill introduced in the Utah Legislature seeks to create a study of certain medications that are prescribed to transgender youth in order to help them transition.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Brad Daw (R-Orem), would create such a study, and direct it to “conduct a review of any available scientific research related to the administration of a gonadotropin releasing hormone agent to a minor for the purpose of facilitating the minor’s desire to present or appear in a manner that is inconsistent with the minor’s sex, and any side effects of that use.”
Daw, told Salt Lake City’s FOX 13 in a text message that in investigating the topic of minors who undergo a gender transition, he became concerned about the short-term and long-term side effects of puberty blockers that are used to assist in a transition.
“I believe that having the state take a closer at this is worth doing,” Daw said.
If approved, the bill would require any information about transition-related medications to be submitted by November to the Utah State Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee.
The doctor in charge of running the study would be required to have a degree in medicine, pharmacology or a related field, according to the bill.
Opponents of the bill worry that the study may be used by opponents of transgender rights to propose more sweeping bills — similar to those introduced in other states this year — to restrict minors’ ability to access to hormones or puberty blockers by punishing prescribers.
“It’s a much better bill in terms of not trying to restrict people’s access,” Candice Metzler, the director of Transgender Education Advocates of Utah, told FOX 13 when comparing it to legislation in other states.
But Metzler said her group still does not support the bill, arguing that there is already government-funded and peer-reviewed research on the subject that is easy enough for lawmakers to access if they so wish.
She also objects to language in the bill referring to a minor’s biological sex.
“Sex is not what people identify with,” said Metzler. “I just think part of the problem is the language further complicates things and it does leave questions about what the purpose of the study is.”
Former Fox News host and conservative pundit Megyn Kelly equated gender-affirming care for transgender youth to conversion therapy that attempts to change a person's sexual orientation.
Appearing on the Eric Bolling: The Balance show on Newsman this past Tuesday, Kelly commented on a Fox News profile of Ryland Whittington, a trans 14-year-old boy living in California. Fox News' Bryan Llenas, a correspondent for the America's Newsroom program, interviewed Whittington and his family on the experience of coming out and transitioning.
The story was viewed as a largely positive one, as the Whittington family was accepting of Ryland's transition, and his mother, Hillary, reportedly said: "I would rather have a living son than a dead daughter."
FINA, the international governing body for water sports, has adopted a new policy that effectively bans most, if not all, transgender females from competing in women's events.
The "gender inclusion" policy was approved on Sunday during FINA's extraordinary general congress in Budapest following a report from a task force -- comprised of medical, legal, and sports figures -- that examined the issue of transgender participation and the physical advantages that trans female athletes enjoy compared to cisgender women. After hearing the report, 71.5% of FINA members from 152 delegations voted in favor of the 24-page policy, which effectively bars most, if not all, trans females from competing in women's events if they have undergone male puberty, reports the Australian Broadcasting Company.
On June 27, Spain's Council of Ministers -- the government's key decision-making body, comprised of the country's prime minister, deputies, and ministers appointed by the king -- approved a draft of a gender-identification bill that would allow transgender people to legally change their gender.
The bill now heads to the Spanish Parliament, or Cortes Generales for approval, where it may be further amended before being passed into law, although lawmakers could still choose to scuttle the bill, which is already being criticized by feminist, women-centric organizations -- potentially creating complications for the Socialist-led government, which relies on several left-leaning groups as part of its governing coalition.
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