Lawmakers in GOP states target medical care for trans kids

By SEAN MURPHY
Associated Press Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Lawmakers in several conservative states are continuing to target transgender children with bills that prohibit gender affirming care for young people. Bills that prohibit such medical care for young people were passed Wednesday by GOP-controlled committees in Oklahoma and South Dakota, and are expected to be approved in Nebraska. The states are among more than two dozen considering similar bans, including Utah, where the Republican governor just signed that state’s bill into law. A judge is reviewing whether to strike down Arkansas’ law after temporarily blocking it last year. Such treatments, including the use of puberty-blocking drugs and hormones, have been available in the United States for more than a decade and are endorsed by major medical associations.