TULSA, Okla. — Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill that blocks funding to prevent gender transition services for minors at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital at OU Health Tuesday afternoon.
The bill went into effect immediately upon Stitt's signature.
“By signing this bill today we are taking the first step to protect children from permanent gender transition surgeries and therapies. It is wildly inappropriate for taxpayer dollars to be used for condoning, promoting, or performing these types of controversial procedures on healthy children,” said Governor Stitt.
Members of the Oklahoma legislature expressed concerns about the Roy G. Biv program at the Oklahoma Children's Hospital. The program offers “gender-affirming hormone therapy” and advertises to help “find surgeons who perform gender-affirming surgeries.” according to the hospital's website.
Oklahoma Children's Hospital has since pledged to cease certain gender medicine procedures.
Stitt says while that’s "good news," he wants Oklahoma lawmakers to ban permanent gender transition surgeries and hormone therapies on minors statewide in the next legislative session.
“I am calling for the Legislature to ban all irreversible gender transition surgeries and hormone therapies on minors when they convene next session in February 2023. We cannot turn a blind eye to what’s happening all across our nation, and as governor I will not allow life-altering transition surgeries on minor children in the state of Oklahoma," says Stitt.
The newly-signed state bill provides nearly $40 million in ARPA funding to increase and expand the capacity of behavioral health care for children, as well as $20 million for cancer patients who have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, $44 million for electronic health record systems, and over $5 million for mobile dental units.
To read the bill in its entirety:
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