Criminal penalties provided for health care practitioners who perform or cause to be performed specified practices on a minor under certain conditions.
Impact
If enacted, HF3264 would significantly alter state laws concerning the medical treatment of transgender minors and related issues of gender identity. The legislation would criminalize a set of medical practices that are often part of gender-affirming healthcare, thereby placing considerable restrictions on the options available to minors seeking treatment for gender dysphoria. Supporters of the bill argue that it protects vulnerable minors from making irreversible decisions about their bodies, while opponents contend that it denies critical healthcare services and undermines the autonomy of patients and their guardians. The bill's passage could signal a shift in how transgender healthcare is regulated at the state level.
Summary
House File 3264 (HF3264), known as the Protect Reproductive Organs of Minors Act, seeks to impose criminal penalties on healthcare practitioners who perform or facilitate specific practices aimed at altering the sex of a minor. The bill defines a minor as anyone under the age of 18 and outlines a range of surgical and medical interventions that would be deemed unlawful under its provisions. Notably, it identifies various surgeries, such as castration and mastectomy, as well as treatments like puberty-blocking medications and hormone therapies as practices that could lead to felony charges if performed on minors without specific conditions being met.
Contention
The bill has generated substantial debate among lawmakers and advocacy groups, with proponents emphasizing the need to establish safeguards for minors against potentially harmful medical interventions. Critics, including medical professionals and LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations, have raised concerns over the implications for patient care and the potential negative impact on the mental health of transgender minors. The bill's provisions would likely lead to extensive discussions regarding parental rights, medical discretion, and the rights of minors to access affirming healthcare, making HF3264 a contentious piece of legislation with implications for healthcare policy and youth rights.
Professions and Businesses; health care providers from performing specified practices on minors relating to altering a person's appearance relating to gender; prohibit
Public health, prohibits medical procedures on minor children intended to alter apprearance of gender with exceptions, provides for certain disclosures by school officials, establishes criminal penalties
Enacting the Kansas child mutilation prevention act to criminalize performing gender reassignment surgery or prescription of hormone replacement therapy on certain persons and providing grounds for unprofessional conduct for healing arts licensees.