OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Senate approved a bill Wednesday aimed at banning gender transition measures for minors.
Sen. Julie Daniels (R-Bartlesville) authored Senate Bill 613 which coincides with one of the goals laid out in Gov. Kevin Stitt's State of the State.
“These transition treatments are permanent, irreversible, and can lead to a host of medical problems later in life," Daniels said. "Being transgender, gender non-conforming, or experiencing gender dysphoria is very real, but these are mental, not physical conditions. Children need behavioral and mental health treatment to give them the opportunity to resolve these issues. Once they reach 18, they may not wish to seek more drastic treatment, but at least they will have reached some level of maturity to make a more informed decision.”
SB 613 provides for the treatment of precocious puberty, delayed puberty and conditions like ambiguous or incomplete genitalia, both male and female genitalia, and sex development disorders. Consequences for violating a law like this could include felony charges, license revocation and civil actions.
The approval by the Senate sends the bill to the House for consideration. If it passes the House, Stitt laid out in his yearly address that he'd sign off on such a bill for it to become law.
"We shouldn’t allow a minor to get a permanent gender-altering surgery in Oklahoma," Stitt said. "That’s why I am calling on the Legislature to send me a bill that bans all gender transition surgeries and hormone therapies on minors in the state."
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