Governor Tate Reeves has signed HB 1125 which immediately went into effect yesterday. The new law bans the use of gender reassignment surgery, puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy for anyone in the state 17 years and younger. Governor Reeves says the bill is meant to protect children.
Reeves says “Fundamentally, this is a war on objective, scientific truth. And it’s a fight over basic biology.”
Trans teens in Mississippi have protested this bill saying access to gender-affirming care helped them avoid suicide. Reeves does say he would be interested in seeing how the state can use mental health treatments to prevent suicide rates from rising.
Jensen Matar with the Trans Program says this law furthers discrimination against trans youth.
“I’m not feeling the greatest to be honest with you. This is just a really, really sad day for Mississippi,” says Matar. “The decision that’s been made is going to negatively impact a lot of people.”
Some trans youth in the state have been utilizing hormone therapy with parental consent. Lee Pace is with Spectrum The Other Clinic, an organization that has previously provided access to hormone therapy for trans youth. He says those services are no longer an option for those younger patients.
Pace says “I would hope that a young person would be able to have the strength and the support system to identify themselves as who they truly are and not do anything rash. If that makes sense.”
Legal experts say the new law is vague in its language and could disrupt healthcare to youth who do not identify as trans. The national suicide hotline can be reached by dialing 988.
