LANSING, Mich. — State Sen. Thomas Albert this week introduced legislation aimed at protecting Michigan kids from harmful and potentially irreversible procedures related to “gender transition.”
Senate Bills 289-291 would ban certain procedures for patients under age 18 and only when the intent is to alter the appearance or align with a perception of sex that is inconsistent with a minor’s birth sex. That includes puberty blockers, certain hormone treatments in abnormal amounts, sterilization, removing healthy tissues or body parts, and surgeries to artificially construct tissues inconsistent with the minor’s birth sex.
The legislation includes certain exceptions for minors, such as for those diagnosed with a sexual development disorder by a physician, procedures needed to avoid impairment of a major bodily function, or to address harm caused by previous procedures.
“We don’t yet know the long-term health consequences of these procedures that remove fully healthy body parts or involve chemically altering kids before they’ve even had a chance to fully mature,” Albert said. “I am a parent of both sons and daughters. I want any kid going through a difficult time to get the help they need. That care should be evidence-based and in the child’s short- and long-term best interests.”
Albert and Rep. Brad Paquette were joined Wednesday in Lansing by supporters of the legislation. Guests included a former worker at a pediatric transgender clinic and a detransitioner, who shared their experiences and concerns about the practices that would be banned under the legislative proposal.
The legislation would not criminalize procedures but would allow individuals who underwent these procedures as minors to seek civil relief within a specified time period if they were harmed.
Albert’s legislation borrows from a growing number of states that have adopted similar protections for kids in recent years. President Donald Trump signed an executive order designed to protect children against the procedures earlier this year.
“We have an obligation to protect kids,” Albert said. “Recognizing this obligation is why the state of Michigan has commonsense age restrictions in place for driving, drinking, smoking and all kinds of other activities until kids are old enough to have a better understanding of the risks. That same interest of protecting kids should apply to these procedures.”
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