By Susan Payne
Over 20 states have aimed to limit youth LGBTQ+ gender-affirming health care in 2022, but California is stepping in to bridge that gap.
Senate Bill 107, which prohibits out-of-state agencies from removing children from parents who provide them with gender-affirming care healthcare in California, is now in effect.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 107 in September, guaranteeing protection for people seeking or providing trans-appropriate medical care, regardless of their own state’s laws against the care.
Nine states have already pre-filed measures that ban transitional care, including Alabama, Texas, Arizona, New Hampshire, Montana, Missouri and Oklahoma, according to ABC 23 Bakersfield.
Provisions within those bills criminalize gender-affirming care providers and allows others to file damages against those providers, ABC reported. They are also seeking the right to penalize parents who help their children access care.
In a letter to the state senate, Governor Gavin Newsom said, “In California, we believe in equality and acceptance. We believe that no one should be prosecuted or persecuted for getting the care they need – including gender-affirming care.”
SB 107 protects parents and trans youth from out-of-state subpoenas that seek to criminalize the decision to provide gender-affirming care and bans California law enforcement from cooperating with out-of-state efforts to arrest or extradite someone regarding this care.
