Wyoming joined 23 other states in outlawing gender-affirming care for minors.
The lawmakers in both state chambers supported the law. Senate File 99, was approved earlier this month. Gov. Mark Gordon signed the bill Friday.
The new law would punish pharmacists, doctors, and other healthcare professionals for giving gender-affirming care to minors by taking away their licenses or banning them from practicing in the state.
Gordon said he supports the protections for minors in the bill, but also believes the government is getting involved in private family matters.
Gordon stated, “I signed SF99 because I support the protections this bill includes for children, however it is my belief that the government is straying into the personal affairs of families” in a Friday statement. statement“Our legislature needs to sort out its intentions with regard to parental rights. While it inserts governmental prerogative in some places, it affirms parental rights in others.”
State Senator Anthony Bouchard sponsored the bill and argued that it would stop the use of drugs to change “normal adolescent development.’’ The law will start in July.
Even though Gordon approved the law against gender-affirming care for minors, he rejected another law on Friday that would have limited abortions in the state, called House Bill 148.
Since 2021, GOP-led states have tried to pass laws against gender-affirming care for minors.
Montana and Idaho have received orders from judges temporarily stopping the bans. Arkansas' ban was ruled unconstitutional and was removed by a federal judge.
