House Bill 1125 has quickly moved through the state legislature this year, having already passed out of the House chamber and through its appointed Senate committee. This is despite efforts by Democrats to block the bill either throughout the process. Republican Senator Joey Fillingane helped to push the bill through committee.
“We’re talking 0-17 years of age here, and we’re talking about these kids that can’t make these decisions for themselves. You can’t as an 8-year-old walk up into a doctors office and say ‘please change my sex from A to B or B to A,’” said Fillingane during a January 31 meeting of the Senate Judiciary B committee.
The bill would prevent anyone under the age of 18 from seeking gender affirming healthcare, including surgeries, hormone therapy or puberty blockers. Surgical operations are currently not available to youth in Mississippi, and hormone treatments are only available for those 16 years and older. Any child seeking those treatments must have parental consent.
The bill would not ban counseling and other non-medical options for transitioning, but trans-rights advocates say this could still be dangerous for young Mississippians. McKenna Raney-Grey with the ACLU of Mississippi says there is also language in the bill to prevent use of public funds for these types of procedures.
Raney-Grey says “If this got challenged in court, and it was found to be unconsitutional, they still want there to be a public funds prohibition so that in the future, even if these kinds of procedures are permitted to continue going forward, you would not be able to have funds from the state of Mississippi going towards these.”
If the bill is passed and becomes law, it would immediately go into effect. Under the legislation, no criminal charges would be brought to those violating it, but it would open the door for anyone to sue a child’s guardian or healthcare provider.
