SW News: On Saturday, January 28, the Republican governor of Utah, Spencer Cox, signed new laws restricting access to healthcare for transgender people and banning the use of hormones and operations to promote gender identification among trans kids. Utah now joins a number of other American states that already have comparable legislation in place, and it seems that many more will probably follow.

Any kid identified as having gender dysphoria after the governor signed the bill on Saturday would not be eligible for hormone therapy or gender confirmation surgery. Hormone treatment and surgery are not accessible to anybody who wants to change their biological sex, but they are for those who have endometriosis, menstrual disorders, ovarian or uterine diseases, or sex-related cancer.

Legal protections for intersex kids enable them to get hormone and surgical treatment. The legislation mandates that a number of state health agencies conduct long-term studies on the effects of gender-affirming hormone therapy on young people. By using this data, it will be possible to decide whether or not hormone treatment should be legalized.

The measure codifies new rules for clinicians by requiring a distinct certification to treat transgender children and a detailed assessment of treatment plans for transgender kids who are already taking hormones.

The minimum age to refuse permission and file a lawsuit against a physician for harm caused by hormone treatment to a juvenile has been increased to 25.

The law "violates the rights and privacy of transgender Utahns, their families, and their medical providers in a horrific and lethal way," according to Chase Strangio, deputy director for transgender justice at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Sunday saw the release of the statement, and Strangio made the comment in response to it.

Strangio claims that the bill is a horrific and fatal violation of the rights and privacy of transgender Utahns, their families, and their medical professionals.