South Dakota lawmakers are expected to vote Wednesday on legislation that would limit doctors from prescribing puberty-blocking or hormone drugs and performing sex reassignment surgeries on persons under the age of 16.
Supporters of the bill believe that transgender adolescents under 16 are too young to begin a medical transition to the opposite sex. Opponents, including doctors, Democrats, libertarians, and transgender people, say it will harm the teenagers who seek treatment and incriminate doctors, who could face up to one year in jail for violating the law. Lawmakers who voted against the bill said they heard from young transgender people and their families who said the treatment had proven integral to the child’s well-being.
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