New bill would ban gender-confirming care for anyone under 26 in Oklahoma
Written by ABC Audio. All rights reserved. on January 6, 2023
(NEW YORK) — A new bill would make it a felony for anyone under the age of 26 to access gender-confirming care in the state of Oklahoma.
Senate Bill 129, sponsored by Republican state Sen. David Bullard, is the most recent anti-transgender care bill to be introduced in an ongoing push against gender-confirming care by Republican legislators across the country.
Though many of these bills have initially targeted minors, several recently proposed bills have started extending the bans into adulthood.
Under this bill, physicians and health care providers cannot provide gender transition procedures to a patient under the age of 26 or refer them “to any healthcare professional for gender transition procedures.”
A referral would be classified as “unprofessional conduct” and may result in “immediate revocation of the license or certificate of the physician or other healthcare professional.”
Sen. Bullard’s office has not responded to a request for comment by ABC News.
Another recently introduced bill in Oklahoma, House Bill 101, aims to ban these procedures for people under the age of 21.
States, including Oklahoma, Florida, Arkansas, Idaho and Alabama, all have policies or laws restricting gender-confirming care, though many are being battled out in court.
Oklahoma currently has laws in place that ban trans athletes in state schools from participating in sports that correspond with their gender identity, a ban on trans people using the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity, and bans non-binary gender markers on state birth certificates.
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