CAP-Supported SB 1451: Parental Consent; Gender Reassignment Drugs
Summary:
Bill Status:
Bill History:
01/29/2024 Bill Introduced
Bill Versions:
Introduced Version Here.
Factsheet
Executive Summary
The number of minors seeking gender-altering drugs has skyrocketed in recent years. Yet little long-term research exists addressing the implications of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones on children’s brains and bodies. Children should never be prescribed and administered experimental drugs without their parents’ consent.
Background
The healthcare industry should not be experimenting on minors, period. And we should all agree that these experiments should not be carried out without the consent of the child’s parents.
There are no long-term studies showing the effects of cross-sex hormones by minors. But there are many studies showing the health risks to adults. The side effects of using cross-sex hormones in adults are well known. They include:[i]
- Severe liver dysfunction
- Coronary artery disease (including heart attacks)
- Cerebrovascular disease (including strokes)
- Hypertension
- Increased risk of breast and uterine cancers
- Irreversible infertility
- Thromboembolic disease (including blood clots)
- Gallstones
Given the side effects of cross-sex hormones in adults, the use of puberty blockers in adolescents would be likewise damaging. They are also unnecessary. Studies confirm at least 80 to 95 percent of children experiencing gender conflict grow comfortable with their biological gender while growing up.[ii] Yet, if they are placed on puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, their bodies will be fundamentally, and likely forever, changed.
What the bill does
- Requires parental consent for the prescription or administration of drugs intended to alter the body of a child who identifies in a way that does not correspond to their biological sex.
- Provides meaningful legal remedies for families whose children are given these dangerous drugs and gives the state authority to take appropriate remedial action against medical professionals who fail to obtain parental consent.
- Doesn’t prevent the use of these drugs by people born with a medically verifiable disorder of sexual development.
Talking Points
- Minors cannot buy alcohol or cigarettes, vote, get a tattoo, or even buy cough syrup over the counter. They certainly cannot consent to a drastic decision with permanent consequences like taking high doses of experimental drugs that don’t belong in their bodies.
- Parents have a fundamental right to direct the upbringing of their children, including medical decisions. Parents should never be cut out of the picture when it comes to harmful chemicals that can cause irreversible damage to their child’s body.
- The healthcare industry should not be experimenting on minors, period. And we should all agree that these experiments should not be carried out without the consent of the child’s parents.
Conclusion
Arizona law should protect young people who struggle to embrace their biological sex by guaranteeing their parents’ role in all medical decisions. The sensitive years of adolescence are confusing and the wrong time to make life-altering decisions without their parents’ guidance. SB 1451 safeguards parents’ rights to direct the upbringing of their children and protects their children from dangerous experimental drugs.
References
[i] World Professional Association for Trans. Health (2012). Standards of Care for the Health of Transsexual, Transgender, and Gender Nonconforming People, v. 7 at 37-40, 50, 97-104, https://www.wpath.org/media/cms/Documents/SOC%20v7/SOC%20V7_English2012.pdf?_t=1613669341.
[ii] American College of Pediatricians. (2018, November). Gender Dysphoria in Children. https://acpeds.org/position-statements/gender-dysphoria-in-children.