Utah lawmakers to push for permanent ban on youth transgender treatments amid criticism of state report

In 2023, the Legislature passed SB16, which prohibited sex reassignment surgeries for minors, put an indefinite pause on puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for new child patients, and ordered a review of medical evidence to inform future policies.

The review, conducted by the University of Utah’s Drug Regimen Center for the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, was presented to the Legislature in May. It purported to find positive health outcomes for “gender affirming treatments.”

A report published in December by Do No Harm — a group of doctors who say they are focused on “keeping identity politics out” of medical research — identified significant flaws with Utah’s review, including a failure to scrutinize low quality data and “life-altering adverse effects.”

Read the full story at Deseret News.