Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen approved restrictions on gender transition treatments for people under 19, as more states enact regulations for “gender affirmation” procedures for minors.
“Nebraska's children are our future. They deserve the opportunity to grow and develop to the fullest potential God has given them,” Pillen said in a statement last week. “As a state, we must protect children from making potentially irreversible and regrettable decisions, decisions whose consequences they may not fully understand.”
The law went into effect this week.
COLORADO COULD BECOME THE FIRST STATE TO BUILD SEPARATE PRISON UNITS FOR TRANSGENDER OFFENDERS
Nebraska Republican Gov. Jim Pillen announced Tuesday the appointment of Dr. Timothy Tesmer as the state's next chief medical officer. (Kenneth Ferriera/Lincoln Journal Star via AP, File)
Last week, Pillen, a Republican, signed legislation known as the Let Them Grow Act, which would require transgender people under age 19 seeking nonsurgical gender-altering pharmaceutical treatments to clear several hurdles before receiving treatment. That includes 40 hours of therapy before they are given puberty blockers or hormonal prescriptions.
If these prescriptions are granted, minors must wait seven days until they can receive them. Once they receive puberty blockers or hormonal prescriptions, minors must also undergo one hour of therapy every three months to evaluate their mental well-being.
“I'm glad the process is over,” Republican state Sen. Kathleen Kauth told the Nebraska Examiner. “I hope it helps the kids.”
THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY FINDS THAT 'HOMOPHOBIA' AND 'DISCRIMINATION' CAN 'INCREASE THE RISK OF CANCER' IN LGBTQ+ PEOPLE
Nebraska's governor signed a bill restricting “gender-affirming care” for minors. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
However, advocates for broader access to so-called “gender-affirming” procedures and prescriptions see the law as harmful to children who identify as transgender. The American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska issued a statement following the governor's signing, saying Nebraska lawmakers “have chosen to flatly ignore the serious concerns raised by the affected youth, as well as their families and health care providers and of mental health”.
“To be clear, we are talking about gender-affirming care endorsed by major medical organizations and recognized as care that often saves lives,” said ACLU spokesperson Grant Friedman. “Nebraska trans youth and their families have been struggling to access necessary gender-affirming care under the emergency regulations, and now they know that will continue under these discriminatory final regulations.”
ACLU SUES INDIANA FOR DENIAL OF SEX REASSIGNMENT SURGERY TO INMATE WHO STRANGLED 11-MONTH-OLD CHILD TO DEATH
Tree Crane, 17, poses for a photo after a rally where hundreds gathered in support of transgender youth at the Utah State Capitol on Jan. 24, 2023, in Salt Lake City. (Rick Bowmer)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The new law comes as more conservative states are enacting laws that severely restrict both surgical and non-surgical transgender procedures for minors. And states like Idaho, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Alabama and Florida have gone a step further by making it a felony to give minors any gender transition prescriptions or perform surgical procedures, such as sex changes.
Meanwhile, several states have created “shield laws” that protect these gender transition procedures and prescriptions for transgender people, including California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, New York, Vermont, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Maryland, Illinois and Massachusetts.
