The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the Texas Pediatric Society and other prominent healthcare organizations say that gender-affirming care is the best treatment for transgender children. Sen. Donna Campbell, the New Braunfels Republican who authored SB 14, disagrees. But her bill included an amendment that allowed minors already receiving gender-affirming care to continue doing so. She added this amendment herself last month but removed it before SB 14’s approval last Tuesday.
“There were so many questions that have been brought up since the amendment was put on that out of respect for the body, we’re going to ask that it be taken down,” Campbell said during the Senate session on Monday.
On the day the Senate approved her bill, Campbell said: “Children who are on puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones need more counseling and love. They don’t need blades and drugs.”
Sen. José Menéndez, a Democrat from San Antonio, told his colleagues ahead of the vote that he was concerned about the impacts the bill would have. “I believe Senator Campbell when she says she wants to protect children, but I don’t think she realizes the potential harm, the very real harm,” he said. “Parents and children make very many difficult decisions about what’s best for their lives and I know that if we choose to hone in on any one of those aspects, we might find ourselves similarly divided about what we think is right.”
Menéndez said a text he received from a parent of a transgender child said the family would likely have to leave the state to continue gender-affirming care if the bill is passed."I’m running a little thin on hope right now." – Susie Hess, Stonewall Democrats of Dallas
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“You don’t have to support trans kids or believe that dysphoria is a legitimate medical need,” Menéndez read from the text. “You don’t need to like me or respect me as a parent. But you must not infringe on my right to get care for my child that they, we, and his team of world-class physicians know he needs, especially if that has been working for him, allowing him to enjoy a successful academic and social life for years now.”
Throughout discussions of the bill and its House companion, medical professionals have testified to the benefits of gender-affirming care and the harms of suddenly disrupting that care or preventing it altogether. Gender-affirming care can include treatments such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy. These therapies have uses outside of gender-affirming care and can reduce high rates of depression and suicide among trans youth.
But the Senate went ahead and approved SB 14 in a 19-12 vote along party lines last week. It will now be up for consideration in the House. Campbell did not respond to a request for comment.
Rep. Venton Jones, a Dallas Democrat, told the Observer there are more important things for the legislature to work on than banning minors from receiving gender-affirming care.
“We have so much more to be focused on right now – public education, property taxes and helping put food in people’s mouths – and this attack continues on LGBTQ people and their families," Jones said.
Republicans, on the other hand, are taking a victory lap in response to SB 14’s passage in the Senate.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick made SB 14 one of his priority bills this session. “As Lt. Governor, I believe the practice of child gender modification is abhorrent and must be stopped in Texas,” Patrick said in a statement after the vote. Two similar bills were approved by the Senate in the last session but died in the House. “That is why SB 14 is one of my top priorities this session,” Patrick said.
Republican Party of Texas Chairman Matt Rinaldi, who criticized the SB 14 amendment that would have allowed some minors to continue gender-affirming care, applauded Patrick and Campbell and said the bill will help protect children.
“Senator Donna Campbell and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick built an impressive coalition of grassroots activists, child advocacy groups, and medical experts to craft and pass the strongest bill possible to protect Texas children from misguided adults sacrificing them at the altar of political ideology,” Rinaldi said.
Susie Hess, president of Stonewall Democrats of Dallas, told the Observer that Republicans are trying to push an anti-trans agenda. “They misguidedly think that transgender people are some kind of great scourge on the country when transgender people represent less than 1% of the population,” Hess said. “But this is what they want to prioritize as 'safety' instead of what is actually harming children: fentanyl and shootings.”
Hess said she hopes lawmakers will come to their senses and vote against anti-trans legislation like SB 14 and its companion House Bill 1686. “But, you know, I’m running a little thin on hope right now,” Hess said.
If enacted, SB 14 would take effect on Sept. 1.
