Utah Republicans Exclude Cis Teen Breast Implants From Trans Care Ban

In current legislative fights over gender affirming care, it is clear that Republicans only intend to target transgender people. This amendment vote proves it.

Several anti-trans bills have been proposed in Utah this year. Just yesterday, three were heard in the Senate Health and Human Services committee. One bill, SB100, would forcibly out transgender students to their parents. Another bill, SB93, was targeted at birth certificate changes for trans youth. The most contentious bill of the day though was SB16, a bill that would ban gender affirming care for trans youth. It was in the debate of this bill that one Democratic Utah Senator, Senator Luz Escamilla, proposed an amendment to call Republican’s bluff that they care about “protecting kids.”

Sen Escamilla pointed out that bills targeting the transgender community are unconstitutional because they single out one group of people for discrimination. To prove her point, she submitted a bill that was simple in nature: a ban on plastic surgery on all minors unless it is medically necessary. She submitted her logic: if we ban surgery for trans youth, why not ban plastic surgery for cisgender kids? This then went into discussion before heading for a vote. Watch the full exchange here:

Sen Escamilla stated, “If we are going to take away the ability for parents to make decisions with their providers, then all children should be included and not targeted at a specific group of kids.” Republicans often speak about parental choice and the rights for parents to direct the care and education of their children. In cases like these anti-trans bills that ban care for trans youth, though, they suddenly forget about parental choice and instead decide that the government should stand between families and their doctors. Senator Escamilla’s proposed amendment was designed to highlight exactly that.

Senator Michael Kennedy, the proponent and chief sponsor of the bill, said that he opposed banning breast implants for cisgender kids. He tried to come up with ad hoc justifications, such as the idea that breast implants for cis kids have been done for a long time and so this makes it acceptable. Nevermind that puberty blockers have also been used for decades - Senator Kennedy knows that banning cis kids from getting breast implants would upset the thriving plastic surgery industry in the state. One by one the senators cast their vote. The amendment failed 5-2 with all 5 Republicans voting against the amendment and both Democrats voting for it.

SB16 was eventually passed out of committee and will be heard on the full senate floor. The results of SB16 will be catastrophic for transgender youth if it passes. The bill would ban gender affirming care and force many trans youth through a puberty that we know from scientific research is damaging for them. One study in the journal Pediatrics stated that trans youth who were forced to go through a puberty that did not match their gender identity were significantly more likely to experience depression and anxiety disorders compared to those who were able to obtain blockers. Another study in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that trans youth that could obtain puberty blockers and gender affirming care saw a 73% reduction in suicidality. Gender affirming care saves lives - bills like SB16 result in trans youth’s deaths.

The bill does not only attack transgender youth, but also targets intersex youth. It contains provisions that outright target intersex youth by legalizing surgeries meant to force them into one gender role or another. This surgery is nonconsensual and has been decried by intersex rights advocates. Surgeries on intersex youth only serve to reinforce a sex binary that doesn’t actually exist. This is yet another contradiction between what Republicans pushing anti-trans bills claim they want to do, and what they are actually doing.

SB16 represents another attack on trans and intersex youth in a year where we are seeing a historic number of such attacks. This year, over 140 anti-trans laws have been proposed according to a tracker that I have advised on. Likewise, the Trans Formations Project is tracking a similar number of bills on their site, which I have also advised on. I have noted 18 states in which gender affirming care bans have been enacted or proposed - most states still have gender affirming care available, but that could change if these bills fully pass state legislatures. Sen Escamilla’s amendment showed us all what we already knew - this is not about protecting kids, it’s about policing transness and making it harder to exist as a transgender person in America.