Utah lawmakers said gender-affirming care is harmful to kids. Their own study contradicts that claim

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — When Utah Republicans passed a ban on gender-affirming health care for children and teens in 2023, they argued it was needed to protect vulnerable kids from treatments that could cause long-term harm.

Years later, the results of a study commissioned under the same law contradict that claim, and the Republican-led Legislature is facing pressure to reconsider the restrictions.

Utah’s Department of Health and Human Services and experts from the state’s leading health organizations concluded from a study of thousands of transgender people that gender-affirming care generated “positive mental health and psychosocial functioning outcomes.”

Policies that prevent access to hormone therapy for minors cannot be justified based on scientific findings or concerns about potential regret in the future, the report states.

The agency is not taking a position on whether lawmakers should lift the statewide ban on hormone therapy and surgeries for minors. But it reminded lawmakers that they had intended for the prohibition to be temporary until the state could conduct its own research.

Utah is among 27 states that have adopted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors, who Republican politicians have made a political lightning rod. Federal judges have struck down bans in Arkansas, Florida and Montana as unconstitutional, though a federal appeals court has stayed the Florida ruling. The law in Kansas is not yet being enforced.

Some Utah Republicans said they were open to considering the findings of the study, while others were quick to dismiss it.

In a joint statement, the House sponsor of the 2023 law banning gender-affirming care and the chair of the Legislature’s interim health committee said they “intend to keep the moratorium in place.”

“Young kids and teenagers should not be making life-altering medical decisions based on weak evidence,” said Republican Reps. Katy Hall and Bridger Bolinder. “Simply put, the science isn’t there, the risks are real, and the public is with us.”

All major medical organizations in the U.S. consider gender-affirming care to be safe, effective and medically necessary for transgender youth. But polling shows that Republicans’ restrictions on transgender kids’ access to care resonate with voters, according to a recent survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Senate President Stuart Adams said he is committed to reviewing the report. The Republican leader has suggested previously that children and teens are too young to consent to the treatments.

Children questioning their gender identity generally receive counseling and may be prescribed puberty-blocking drugs or hormones. Gender-affirming surgeries, such as operations to transform the chest or genitals, are rarely performed on minors.

“The future and safety of kids are paramount,” Adams said. “That is why Utah enacted a law to safeguard the long-term health and well-being of minors while providing time to carefully examine the evolving medical landscape surrounding novel and irreversible procedures for minors. I appreciate the Utah Department of Health and Human Services for evaluating the available evidence.”

Utah Democratic leaders Rep. Angela Romero and Sen. Luz Escamilla are urging their Republican colleagues to take more time to review the more than 1,000-page report before deciding the future of the ban.

Under the law, children who had already been diagnosed with gender dysphoria before January 2023 were allowed to continue receiving hormones. The University of Utah shut down its health clinic for LGBTQ+ youth earlier this month after the law significantly decreased its number of patients. Doctors who provide gender-affirming care to minors in violation of the ban could lose their licenses and face criminal charges.

The report prepared for lawmakers acknowledged certain risks associated with gender-affirming care, including an increase in some types of benign brain tumors. But experts highlighted the positive impact of such treatments in mitigating the risk of suicide among transgender youth.

“Patients that were seen at the gender clinic before the age of 18 had a lower risk of suicide compared to those referred as an adult,” the report states. “When left untreated, individuals with gender dysphoria may experience psychological and social harms.”

The report in Utah contrasts with one issued earlier this month by President Donald Trump’s administration that questioned widely accepted treatment standards from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. did not release information about who authored the report, and major medical groups said they were not consulted.

Trump’s guidance urges greater reliance on behavioral therapy rather than medical interventions for children who experience a disconnect between their gender identity and their sex assigned at birth. It follows an executive order Trump issued days into his second term that says the federal government must not support gender transitions for anyone under age 19.