On Saturday, Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed S.B. 16, legislation which prohibits health care providers from performing sex-change procedures on minors. The new law also extends the right of action for individuals to bring medical malpractice suits if they were given such procedures as minors.

Utah is the sixth state to protect kids from sex-change procedures at some level, joining Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Texas.

Terry Schilling, president of American Principles Project (APP) released the following statement applauding the bill’s passage:

“It is great to see Utah taking the lead to protect kids in 2023. This law’s passage will be uncontroversial to most Americans. Across the country, minors are not allowed to drink alcohol, smoke, gamble, or get tattoos — so why in the world would we support them getting sterilizing sex-change procedures before they are mature enough to make that decision? That’s not to mention the many other terrible side effects of these drugs now being discovered, all of which have convinced countries such as Sweden, Finland, and the U.K. to recommend pausing these procedures for children.

“It’s also worth noting how significant a shift this represents in Utah politics. Just last year, Gov. Cox vetoed legislation protecting women’s sports, capitulating to the radical LGBT lobby. It is encouraging to see him make the right decision now in signing S.B. 16, and we encourage the many other states still without such protections to follow Utah’s example.”

To schedule an engagement with American Principles Project, contact Paul Dupont at (o) 202-503-2010 or pdupont@americanprinciplesproject.org.