Nebraska bans transgender surgeries on children, becoming 18th state to do so.

Nebraska Governor Signs Bill Banning Transgender Surgeries and Most Abortions

Overview

Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen has signed a bill that prohibits transgender surgeries for those under 18 and most abortions at 12 weeks. Nebraska is now the 18th state to pass laws banning transgender procedures on children. The bill, known as the “Let Them Grow Act,” passed 33-15 in the state legislature.

Details

The signing of the bill follows a week of protests at the capitol building in Lincoln, where several protesters were arrested during the legislature’s Friday session. The law bans transgender surgeries for minors, such as mastectomies on girls who identify as boys. Nebraska lawmakers joined other red states in banning transgender surgeries for minors.

The law does not explicitly ban procedures such as giving children cross-sex hormones or puberty blockers, but it does give some power to the state’s chief medical officer to regulate them. Rush Chipman, the director of the ACLU of Nebraska, claimed that the law would harm “vulnerable communities.”

The 12-week ban on abortions is similar to one that North Carolina Republicans enacted last week and is the first abortion ban passed in the state in 13 years. The failure by one vote of a bill that would have banned abortion at six weeks preceded the 12-week ban.

Conclusion

Nebraska lawmakers have joined other red states in banning transgender surgeries for minors. Missouri and Texas have also advanced similar measures that are likely to be signed into law later this year, while North and South Carolina lawmakers are looking at similar proposals.