Mississippi Bans Gender Transition Surgeries, Therapies for Minors

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves (R) signed a bill Tuesday banning a number of procedures frequently undertaken by transgender individuals from being performed on minors.

Key Quotes: Signing the bill, Reeves states that a “dangerous movement” was spreading across America, pushed onto children by “radical activists, social media, and online influencers” that aims to “convince our children that they are in the wrong body.”

Details: Mississippi is the third state to ban such procedures from being performed on minors, following Utah and South Dakota. Similar legislation has been proposed in numerous other states. The bill also bans surgeries not exclusive to sex-change operations, such as hysterectomy procedures, as seen on line 66 of the bill, during which the uterus is removed. In addition to sex-change procedures, hysterectomies are performed to mitigate uterus or cervix cancer, uterine prolapse, vaginal bleeding, and chronic pelvic pain, according to the Mayo Clinic. The bill does not make an exception for these cases, but does make an exception to its ban on genitalia removal in the case of male circumcisions, seen on line 58 of the bill.

How The Media Covered It: Coverage in The Hill (Center Bias) stated that Reeves' “dangerous movement” statement was motivated by a “debunked theory,” linking to a study from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Democracy Now! (Left Bias) called the legislation “anti-trans.” Most left- and center-rated outlets referred to the banned procedures as “gender-affirming care.” Right-rated outlets frequently called the procedures “transgender surgeries.”