GOP Texas senators reverse their votes on allowing some transgender kids to continue gender-affirming care

AUSTIN, Texas - Republican Texas senators on Monday reversed themselves and voted against allowing transgender kids currently being treated with puberty blockers and hormone therapy to continue receiving such care.

That reversal essentially expanded Senate Bill 14’s proposed ban on transition-related care to include all transgender children — as outlined in the legislation’s original version. The chamber voted 19-11 along party lines to preliminarily approve the broader version of the bill, which is priority legislation for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

Monday’s vote to expand the restrictions and advance the legislation came days after the GOP-controlled Senate agreed to allow kids already on puberty blockers and hormone therapy by early June to keep their access to those treatments.

Republican Sen. Donna Campbell of New Braunfels, SB 14’s author, said Monday that she wanted to remove the exceptions because they weren’t discussed in a committee hearing before reaching the full Senate.

"There were so many questions that have been brought up since the amendment was put on that out of respect for the body, we’re going to ask that it be taken down," she said.

Campbell also successfully introduced an amendment to move the bill’s effective date from Dec. 1 to Sept. 1, 2023.

Sen. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio, pushed back against removing the exceptions, which would have allowed more transgender kids to receive care that many medical groups say is vital to their mental health. During committee debates for both SB 14 and its House companion bill, the Texas Medical Association has also called for lawmakers to allow trans youth who are already receiving transition-related medical treatments such as puberty blockers or hormone therapy to continue receiving them.

"There’s extensive data showing that hormone therapy withdrawal symptoms can be and are very real difficult to cope with," Menéndez said. "I'm not sure after the hearing where we — Senator Campbell and I — sat through, why we would want to pull the rug out from under people."

Disclosure: The Texas Medical Association has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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