Civil rights groups threaten swift legal action if Oklahoma bans gender-affirming carehttps://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/civil-rights-groups-threaten-swift-legal-action-if-oklahoma-bans-gender-affirming-care/ar-AA172yrZ?cvid=b308b6276b3e49a589121c473c8cdc99Story by Brooke Migdon (2 Feb 2023)
Three civil rights groups have vowed to take “swift legal action” against a slate of proposed restrictions on gender-affirming health care for transgender youths and adults in Oklahoma should any of them become law.
Lawmakers have introduced at least 15 bills threatening to severely limit access to treatments including puberty blockers, hormones and gender-affirming surgeries for transgender individuals. The state’s Republican-controlled legislature officially convenes on Feb. 6.
A majority of the proposed measures would bar minors from receiving gender-affirming health care, mimicking bills that were successfully passed in Alabama and Arkansas but later enjoined by federal court orders. Another Oklahoma bill seeks to prevent transgender adults as old as 26 from accessing care – a sharp pivot from a popular conservative argument that legislative efforts to crack down on transgender health care are intended to protect children.
A nearly identical bill — titled the “Millstone Act” in a reference to a Bible passage about punishing sinners — was introduced earlier this month in South Carolina.
In a joint news release issued Thursday, Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the ACLU of Oklahoma warned of impending legal action against any restrictions on gender-affirming health care signed into law in Oklahoma.
