Mississippi passes law banning sex-change treatment for minors

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Mississippi has joined six other US states in passing legislation that bans puberty blockers, hormone treatments, and sex-change surgeries for minors under the age of 18 who identify as the opposite sex, ABC News reports.

Gov. Tate Reeves (R) has now signed into law House Bill No.1125, titled The Regulate Experimental Adolescent 2 Procedures (REAP) Act, ABC News said. The Bill was passed by the GOP-led state legislature last month. Mississippi now joins Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, South Dakota, and Utah in implementing bans on gender-affirming treatment for children and adolescents.

The new law also prohibits public funds or tax deductions from being used for gender-affirming procedures; it “places enforcement procedures on the Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure and stops Medicaid from covering gender transition for persons under 18,” Reeves’ office said in a statement.

While major medical associations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Public Health Association, claim gender-affirming treatment is safe and effective, the issue continues to be hotly debated and remains highly controversial in the US and around the world.

“At the end of the day, there are two positions here,” Reeves said upon signing the bill into law. “One tells children that they’re beautiful the way they are. That they can find happiness in their own bodies. The other tells them that they should take drugs and cut themselves up with expensive surgeries in order to find freedom from depression. I know which side I’m on. No child in Mississippi will have these drugs or surgeries pushed upon them.”

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