Gov. Sanders Signs Law Protecting Children From Malpractice in Sex-Change Procedures

On Monday Gov. Sarah Sanders signed a law that will help protect children from medical malpractice in dangerous sex-change procedures.

S.B. 199 — which is is now Act 274 of 2023 — by Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R – Branch) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) lets a child who undergoes a sex-change procedure sue the healthcare provider who performed procedure if the child suffers any injury as a result.

Act 274 would let a child file a lawsuit if he or she experiences:

  • A physical or physiological injury from the sex-change procedure
  • A psychological or emotional injury from the sex-change procedure
  • An injury from treatments related to the sex-change procedure
  • An injury from the after-effects of the sex-change procedure

Act 274 also outlines informed-consent processes for sex-change surgeries, puberty blockers, and cross-sex hormones, and it contains protections for healthcare providers who decline to perform sex-reassignment procedures.

More and more, scientific evidence shows sex-reassignment procedures are harmful to children.

Research published this year calls into question the original studies that encouraged doctors to give puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children with gender dysphoria.

In 2021 a major hospital in Sweden announced that it would no longer give puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to kids.

Last year the U.K.’s National Health Services closed its Tavistock gender clinic that gave puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children for many years. Families have indicated their children were subjected to sex-reassignment at that clinic despite an obvious lack of scientific evidence in favor of the procedures and inadequate mental health screenings for children with gender dysphoria.

A gender-identity clinic in Scotland faces similar accusations from former patients who say healthcare professionals rushed them into sex-change procedures.

And last July the U.S. Food and Drug Administration finally added a warning label to puberty blockers in America after biological girls developed symptoms of tumor-like masses in the brain.

Act 274 will help protect children, and it will provide them and their families with legal recourse if they are injured by a sex-change procedure.

LGB v. T

Many critics of transgender ideology today argue that the “T” in the LGBTQ acronym doesn’t fit with the other letters. J.K. Rowling, for example, who often makes the news for opposing transgender ideology, has argued that it isn’t just pitted against women, it’s also pitted against the same-sex attracted

The conflict in the acronym is real. A significant part of the transgender movement is about men taking the place of women and teaching girls that they are born wrong, neither of which sits well with “the L’s.” And many “G’s” believe that many kids who are “born gay” are instead being treated as if they’re trans.  

But the “L,” “G,” and “T” all have one thing in common: fundamentally rejecting the human body. In their view, biological sex and sexual complementarity are accidental—not essential—to who we are.  

In fact, much of our culture is about rejecting the body: abortion, “medical aid in dying,” transhumanism. Part of Christian witness today is that our bodies, though broken, are good gifts from God.  

Copyright 2024 by the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. Reprinted from BreakPoint.org with permission.

Italian Psychoanalytic Society Expresses “Great Concern” Over Puberty Blockers

Mental health experts in Europe continue to be troubled by the practice of giving puberty blockers to children with gender dysphoria.

In a recent letter to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the Italian Psychoanalytic Society expressed “great concern” over the use of drugs that block puberty in boys and girls.

The society’s letter calls the practice of giving puberty blockers to children “experimentation.”

The letter notes that gender-identity is self-identified, which makes it difficult to evaluate scientifically, and it calls for more rigorous, scientific discussion about gender dysphoria in children.

The Italian Psychoanalytic Society is the latest group in Europe to voice concerns about giving puberty blockers to children.

In 2021 a major hospital in Sweden announced that it would no longer give puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to kids.

Last year the U.K.’s National Health Services closed its Tavistock gender clinic that gave puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children for many years. Many families have indicated their children were subjected to sex-reassignment at that clinic despite an obvious lack of scientific evidence in favor of the procedures and inadequate mental health screenings for children with gender dysphoria.

A gender-identity clinic in Scotland faces similar accusations from former patients who say healthcare professionals rushed them into sex-change procedures.

Concerns about puberty blockers are growing in the United States as well.

Research published just last month calls into question the original studies that encouraged doctors to give puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children with gender dysphoria.

And last summer the U.S. Food and Drug Administration finally added a warning label to puberty blockers in America after biological girls developed symptoms of tumor-like masses in the brain.

That is part of the reason why the Arkansas Legislature has taken steps to protect children with gender dysphoria.

In 2021 the Arkansas Legislature overwhelmingly passed the Save Adolescents From Experimentation (SAFE) Act. The SAFE Act is a good law that protects children in Arkansas from cross-sex hormones, puberty blockers, and sex-reassignment surgeries. However, the law has been tied up in court since the summer of 2021. We expect a decision over its constitutionality in the coming months.

Right now lawmakers are considering S.B. 199 by Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R – Branch) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville).

This good law clarifies that a child who undergoes a sex-change procedure can sue the healthcare provider who performed procedure if the child suffers any physical, psychological, or emotional injury as a result.

Our state laws should protect children from dangerous sex-reassignment procedures, and they should provide children and their families with legal recourse if they are injured by a sex-change procedure.

Laws like the SAFE Act and S.B. 199 help do exactly that.