Present law provides that standard medical practice does not involve prescribing hormone treatment for gender dysphoric or gender incongruent prepubertal minors, and prohibits a healthcare prescriber from prescribing a course of treatment that involves hormone treatment for gender dysphoric or gender incongruent prepubertal minors. Present law contains an exception to this prohibition whereby a healthcare prescriber may prescribe a course of treatment that involves hormone treatments for prepubertal minors for diagnoses of growth deficiencies or other diagnoses unrelated to gender dysphoria or gender incongruency.
This bill deletes the above provisions and enacts the following provisions:
(1) It is unlawful for an individual to engage in the following practices upon a minor, or cause the practices to be performed, to facilitate the minor's desire to present or appear in a manner that is inconsistent with the minor's sex:
(A) Surgery that sterilizes the minor, including castration, vasectomy, hysterectomy, oophorectomy, metoidioplasty, orchiectomy, penectomy, phalloplasty, and vaginoplasty;
(B) A mastectomy;
(C) Administering or supplying the following medications that induce transient or permanent infertility: puberty-blocking medication to stop or delay normal puberty; supraphysiologic doses of testosterone or other androgens to members of the female sex; or supraphysiologic doses of estrogen or synthetic compounds with estrogenic activity to members of the male sex; or
(D) Removing an otherwise healthy or non-diseased body part or tissue;
(2) A medical professional who engages in a practice identified in item (1) above or causes the practice to be performed, commits unprofessional conduct and is subject to revocation of licensure and other appropriate discipline by the medical professional's licensing authority. The medical professional will be subject to a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per occurrence. Penalties imposed under this bill will be deposited into the state general fund;
(3) This bill will not apply to:
(A) The good-faith medical decision of a parent or guardian of a minor born with a medically verifiable genetic disorder of sexual development, including the following: a minor with external biological sex characteristics that are irresolvably ambiguous, such as a minor born having 46 XX chromosomes with virilization, 46 XY chromosomes with under-virilization, or having both ovarian and testicular tissue; or when a physician has otherwise diagnosed a disorder of sexual development, in which the physician has determined through genetic testing that the minor does not have the normal sex chromosome structure for male or female sexes; or
(2) Treatment of a minor who, before the effective date of this bill, had received one or more courses of treatment described above in (1)(C);
(3) It is unlawful for a healthcare provider that receives state funds to furnish, provide, or perform a healthcare service that constitutes the performance of or preparation for a gender transition procedure to a minor;
(4) An office, agency, or political subdivision of this state, or an organization with authority to license or discipline the members of a profession, must not prohibit, impose a penalty, or take adverse action against an individual who gives or receives counsel, advice, guidance, or other speech or communication, whether described as therapy or provided for a fee, consistent with conscience or religious belief;
(5) A parent, guardian, or custodian, in exercising the fundamental right to care for a child, may withhold consent for a treatment, activity, or mental healthcare service that is designed and intended to form the child's conceptions of sex and gender or to treat gender dysphoria or gender nonconformity. This bill prohibits an employee or agent of this state or a political subdivision from infringing upon or impeding the exercise of the right described in this provision;
(6) Except for a law enforcement officer acting pursuant to a law enforcement investigation, an employee or agent of this state or a political subdivision is prohibited from:
(A) Encouraging or coercing a minor to withhold information from the minor's parent; or
(B) Withholding from a minor's parents information that is relevant to the physical or mental health of their child and of a sort that parents interested in and responsible for the well-being of a minor reasonably would demand and should be apprised of;
(7) A violation of item (6) above will be grounds for discipline of the employee or agent, in addition to other remedies provided to a parent under this bill;
(8) If an employee or agent of this state or a political subdivision has knowledge that a minor under the care or supervision of this state or a political subdivision has exhibited symptoms of gender dysphoria, gender nonconformity, or otherwise demonstrates a desire to be treated in a manner incongruent with the minor's sex, then the employee or agent with that knowledge must immediately notify, in writing, each of the minor's parents, guardians, or custodians. The notice must describe all of the relevant information known to the employee or agent with reasonable specificity;
(9) A person must not be discriminated against because the person does the following:
(A) Provides, causes to be provided, or takes steps to provide or cause to be provided to the person's employer, the attorney general, an entity of this state or a political subdivision, or an entity of the federal government, information about an act or omission that is a violation of this bill;
(B) Testifies or prepares to testify in a proceeding concerning a violation of this bill; or
(C) Assists or participates in a proceeding concerning a violation of this bill;
(10) Unless a disclosure or report of information is specifically prohibited by law, a person must not be discriminated against because the person discloses information under this bill; that the person believes evinces a violation of law or rule; a violation of a standard of care or other ethical guideline for the provision of a healthcare service; or an act of gross mismanagement, gross waste of funds, or abuse of authority, or which poses a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety;
(11) A civil action for compensatory or special damages, injunctive relief, or other relief available under law may be brought by a person for a violation of this bill against a medical professional, healthcare entity, government agent, or other individual or entity responsible for the violation. A party aggrieved or harmed by a violation of this bill must bring suit for a violation of this part no later than two years after the day the cause of action accrued. A minor injured by a practice prohibited under this bill may bring an action during their minority through a parent, or guardian, and may bring an action in their own name upon reaching majority at any time from that date until 20 years from the date the minor attained the age of majority. A person who prevails on a claim brought pursuant to this bill will be entitled, upon the finding of a violation, to recover the following:
(A) Monetary damages, including all psychological, emotional, and physical harm suffered;
(B) Total costs of the action and reasonable attorneys' fees; and
(C) Other appropriate relief;
(12) A political subdivision is prohibited from enacting, adopting, maintaining, or enforcing a law, ordinance, rule, order, policy, or other measure that prohibits, restricts, limits, controls, directs, or otherwise interferes with the professional conduct and judgment of a mental healthcare professional or counselor, including speech, undertaken within the course of treatment and communication with a client, patient, other person, or the public, including therapy, counseling, referral, and education. The attorney general and reporter or a mental healthcare professional or counselor may bring an action for an injunction to prevent or restrain a violation of this provision. A mental healthcare professional may recover reasonable costs and attorneys' fees incurred in obtaining an injunction under this provision. Sovereign and governmental immunity to suit and from liability is waived and abolished to the extent of the liability created by this provision; and
(13) Funds of this state or a political subdivision of this state must not be used, directly or indirectly, for the performance of or in furtherance of gender transition procedures or to support the administration of a governmental health plan or government-offered insurance policy offering gender transition procedures.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 63-1-169
Current Version: 63-1-169