Elon Musk called for parents and doctors who sterilize children to be convicted and sentenced to life in prison in a Friday tweet.
Musk responded to MSNBC columnist Michael Cohen arguing that Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is governing his state with “cruelty” and a “desperation for power.”
“Any parent or doctor who sterilizes a child before they are a consenting adult should go to prison for life,” Musk said.
Any parent or doctor who sterilizes a child before they are a consenting adult should go to prison for life
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 14, 2023
The Twitter CEO recently criticized Democratic Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan’s calls to allow sex changes and other transgender procedures for children. He called on all the procedures to be banned until a child turns 18 years old and that children identifying as transgender often are “fed propaganda by adults.”
“Moreover, every child goes through an identity crisis before their personality/identity crystallizes. Therefore, we shouldn’t allow severe, irreversible surgery or sterilizing drugs that they may regret until at least age 18,” Musk wrote in a March 16 tweet.
Decades of research show that anywhere from 65 to 94 percent of transgender kids eventually cease to follow those identities in adulthood, according to KHN.
Several Republican-led states, including Indiana and Alabama, have banned child sex changes and hormone procedures for children and minors.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called bans on child sex change procedures at an April 6 briefing a “dangerous attack” on parents’ rights and accused lawmakers banning the procedures of “legislative bullying.”
With the enactment of a new law in Indiana, 14 states have now banned or tried to ban the procedures, with some of these laws being blocked by courts.
The U.K, Finland and Norway agree there is insufficient evidence that the alleged benefits of puberty blockers and hormone procedures outweigh the risks. England’s National Health Service (NHS) banned puberty blockers for minors, arguing that many trans-identifying children grow out of it. Norway recommended that these procedures be classified as experimental treatments.