Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed legislation Thursday that will ban minors from accessing gender transition surgeries and hormone therapy two days after Mississippi's governor signed a similar bill into law.
The legislation will prohibit medical officials from prescribing puberty blockers to or performing gender transition procedures on people under 18. The Republican-controlled House passed the legislation in a 77-16 vote at the end of last month.
MISSISSIPPI GOV. TATE REEVES SIGNS BILL BANNING TRANSGENDER PROCEDURES FOR MINORS
"These children do not need these medical procedures to be able to flourish as adults,” said Tennessee House Majority Leader William Lamberth, according to the Associated Press. "They need mental health treatment. They need love and support, and many of them need to be able to grow up to become the individuals that they were intended to be."
Patients and families will have the ability to file suits and seek damages related to violations under the bill.
The legislation will go into effect later this summer. Minors who take medications prohibited under the legislation, such as puberty blockers, will have until March 31, 2024, to go off the drugs.
The Human Rights Campaign had urged Lee to veto the bill.
"Gender affirming care is age-appropriate, life-saving, medically necessary care that is only provided after the consent of parents and doctors," said Cathryn Oakley, the state legislative director and senior counsel for the Human Rights Campaign, in a statement.
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Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed the Regulate Experimental Adolescent Procedures Act on Tuesday, which will bar health providers in Mississippi from performing gender transition surgeries on or prescribing puberty blockers to people under 18.
Several other states have recently adopted new restrictions on transgender treatments for people under 18. Earlier this month, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem signed legislation that will limit access to puberty blockers, hormone treatments, and gender transition surgeries for people younger than 18.