White House press secretary Jen Psaki warned Thursday that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will hold states “accountable” for outlawing sex reassignment surgeries to minors.
The Alabama legislature passed legislation Thursday criminalizing gender reassignment and other related procedures for minors, including puberty blockers and hormone treatments, with a threat of up to 10 years imprisonment, according to Reuters. The press secretary said Alabama’s legislation, which awaits passage by the governor, is intended to “harm kids.”
“Republican elected officials are engaging in a disturbing, cynical trend of attacking vulnerable, transgender kids for purely partisan, political reasons,” the press secretary said. “Today in Alabama, instead of focusing on critical kitchen table issues, like the economy, COVID, or addressing the country’s mental health crisis, Republican lawmakers are currently debating legislation that among many things, will target trans youth with tactics that threaten to put pediatricians in prison if they provide medically necessary, life-saving healthcare for the kids they serve.”
The press secretary also announced that “lawmakers and other legislators who are contemplating these discriminatory bills have been put on notice by the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)” and said that outlawing sex reassignment, puberty blockers and hormone treatments for children by medical professionals “may violate the Constitution and federal law.”
She also claimed that all major medical associations agree that these treatments are the “best practice” and are “potentially life saving” to children identifying as transgender and therefore should not fear that their parents or medical professional could be imprisoned for “helping them and loving them.”
“President Biden has committed in both words and actions to fight for all Americans and will not hesitate to hold these states accountable,” she said. (RELATED: ‘Hateful’: Psaki Condemns Texas And Florida’s Policies On LGBTQ Children)
The HHS endorsed gender reassignment surgeries for children to “support the mental health of transgender children” in celebration of Transgender Visibility Day.
A study conducted by professionals at the University of Washington-Seattle found that kids receiving puberty blockers and hormones witnessed no statistically significant improvement in their mental health, according to Singal-Minded. The majority continued to experience moderate to severe depression or have self-harm or suicidal thoughts. The professionals then falsely reported that they had a major effect on their mental health.
Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the state’s Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate parents of children and adolescents receiving puberty blockers and sex reassignment surgeries for possible child abuse in early March. A Texas district court judge ordered a temporary halt on the order following a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union.