Newsom signed the bill into law on Thursday.
QUICK FACTS:
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed SB 107 into law on Thursday for the purpose of providing protection for children and families seeking “gender-affirming” treatments.
- The law bans healthcare providers and related professionals from releasing medical information in response to criminal or civil actions to officials from states that don’t allow for similar treatments.
- Officials from any state that doesn’t allow transgender-affirming surgery and treatments for minors would be unable to obtain records for citizens who travel to California for the procedure.
- The bill also prohibits law enforcement from complying with the state laws from another state that authorizes a child to be removed from their guardian’s custody due to transgender health care.
- The law, which does not specify a minimum age for children to qualify for surgical or medicinal treatment, was touted by Newsom as a win for “parental choice.”
- The Los Angeles Times noted that whether SB 107 itself will be upheld in a higher court is “in question because of federal requirements that states must recognize out-of-state laws when residents travel.”
GOV. NEWSOM’S STATEMENT:
- Newsom applauded the bill in a letter written to lawmakers: “In California we believe in equality and acceptance. We believe that no one should be prosecuted or persecuted for getting the care they need — including gender-affirming care. Parents know what’s best for their kids, and they should be able to make decisions around the health of their children without fear. We must take a stand for parental choice,” Newsom wrote.
- “States across the country are passing laws to demonize the transgender community, especially transgender youth and their parents. I cannot put it better than Governor Spencer Cox of Utah – ‘rarely has so much fear and anger been directed at so few,'” the California governor went on.
- Newsom continued in his letter to members of the California State Senate, claiming that the “hate demonstrated by these laws is unfathomable and has contributed to soaring suicide rates. 82% of transgender individuals have considered killing themselves, and 40% have attempted suicide, with suicidality highest among transgender youth. This is unacceptable we must fight for our youth and their parents.”
- He finished, saying, “With the signing of this bill, California will ensure these kids and their families can seek and obtain the medical and mental health care they need.”
BACKGROUND:
- The bill was sponsored by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who was also one of the architects of the controversial legislation regarding the registration of sex offenders.
- Wiener also sponsored legislation in 2020 that eliminated the need that individuals who engaged in oral or anal sex with a consenting young kid under the age of 10 years register as sex offenders looking, instead, to leave that decision up to judges.
