Oklahoma Senate Bill SB614

Oklahoma 2024 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/6/23
• Refer: 2/7/23

Caption

Health care; prohibiting gender reassignment medical treatment for minors; providing for certain civil actions and relief. Emergency.

Impact

If enacted, SB614 will establish a new legal standard regarding the provision of gender reassignment treatments for minors in Oklahoma. The bill permits parents or guardians of affected minors to pursue civil actions against healthcare providers who administer gender reassignment treatments, seeking compensatory damages or injunctive relief. Importantly, the bill ensures that there is no statute of limitations for bringing such actions, which could lead to long-term legal exposure for healthcare professionals involved in treating minors with gender dysphoria.

Summary

Senate Bill 614 aims to prohibit gender reassignment medical treatment for individuals under the age of eighteen in Oklahoma. The bill defines 'gender reassignment medical treatment' to include various medical interventions intended to facilitate the transitioning of a patient’s assigned gender identity to their experienced gender identity. This encompasses therapies that suppress secondary sex characteristics and align a patient's physical body with their gender identity. However, the bill explicitly excludes behavioral healthcare services, mental health counseling, and certain medications used for treating precocious puberty or for individuals with ambiguous genitalia or disorders of sex development.

Contention

The implications of SB614 have sparked significant debate among legislators and advocacy groups. Proponents argue that the bill protects minors from potentially irreversible medical treatments that they may later regret, advocating for the rights of parents to make decisions regarding their children's medical care. Conversely, opponents contend that the legislation undermines the rights of transgender youth to receive necessary medical care and may contribute to mental health challenges among this vulnerable population. The opposition emphasizes that medically supervised treatments have been shown to benefit minors experiencing gender dysphoria.