In the start of 2023 we’ve come into the legislative session in which the legislators introduce new laws to the law making process. House bill 2177 has started a lot of commotion for the LGBTQ+( mainly Transgender and Non-binary) community of Oklahoma.
This bill was written by Republicans Jim Olsen and Kevin West, and is also sponsored by Senator Shane Jett. It states that in order to get gender affirming care, or any type of transitioning process started, you would have to be 18 years of age or older. It also restricts insurance companies from providing aid for gender affirming care overall, and allows those who receive care to sue the provider of the surgeries or any other procedures until the patient is 45 years old. It has been passed through the House of Representatives, and now it is awaiting a senate hearing.

The writers of this bill claim that the purpose of it is to protect the youth from making irreversible decisions that may end up having side effects later in life. Unfortunately, there isn’t that much research on the side effects of these procedures and medications. Little is known about the effects that puberty blockers have, but research in the Netherlands shows that Transgender and Non-binary (TNB) teens who start puberty blockers are at risk of having low BMD ( Bone Mineral Density). Cross-sex hormones have many side effects, like reducing male sperm and reducing female menstruation.

A large French study (ReadFrontier) found that transgender women taking a certain type of synthetic hormone drug are at higher risk of brain tumors, while a study done by the American Heart Association concluded that TNB taking estrogen may be at higher risk of having heart attacks and strokes.

Yes, there may be some side effects to gender affirming care, but denying or taking teens off this care has critical side effects too. Two years ago, in a letter to Chairwoman Coleman of the Missouri House of Representatives about H.B. 33, the American Medical Association (AMA) wrote a two page paper opposing the bill and stated that if TNB were denied this care this would increase the mental health impact on youth and increase Gender Dysphoria. They weren’t the only medical association that warned against the denial of this care.

This bill does affect more than the youth. It also affects grown adults who can’t afford these procedures and would need insurance. The law will also have a chilling effect on health care professionals because they will be afraid to provide gender affirming care. According to the Oklahoma Representative Mauree Turner, “Folks are forced to de-transition if they … cannot afford (gender-affirming care) out of pocket to provide the healthcare they need to survive … (this bill is saying) they cannot stay in Oklahoma.” This will force people who identify as TNB and are planning to transition to move to a different state just to be able to afford to make themselves feel normal.

The bill also states if you are under the age of 18 you would have to be taken off the medication within the next six months. If you have been receiving gender affirming care you are

able to sue the health professional who provided it to you up until you reach the age of 45. Again, this gives doctors a reason not to want to go through with these procedures because they will be at risk of losing their medical license and more.

I feel this bill is a sign of the government overreaching their power and violating the patient and physician relationship. The government just needs to leave governing health to the healthcare professionals, especially when all your evidence that is provided for the reasoning of the bill is just based on internet research and not a hard earned doctorate degree . I feel that this bill is going to be a factor in the youth of Oklahoma leaving for a better future and more opportunities in a place that accepts them fully, no matter who they are and what they like. Honestly, the amount of bills that target the LGBTQ+ community that they’re trying to pass, I feel is a silent way for them to express their dislike of the community, and try to push us out of Oklahoma.