Youngkin would veto bill that could allow minors to make gender decisions without parents
Julia Johnson
A newly introduced bill in Virginia seeks to recognize 16-year-olds as adults when it comes to medical decisions. But Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) would veto such a measure, according to his administration.
“If this legislation reaches the governor’s desk, he would veto it,” Youngkin’s press secretary, Macaulay Porter, told the Washington Examiner.
If enacted, the measure would allow “any minor 16 years of age or older who is determined by a health care provider to be mature and capable of giving informed consent” to be “deemed an adult for the purpose of giving consent to consultation, diagnosis, and treatment of a mental or emotional disorder by a health care provider or clinic.”
House Bill No. 2091 doesn’t mention gender dysphoria, nor does it specifically address gender transition treatments.
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The bill lists as patrons Democratic delegates Candi Mundon King, Nadarius Clark, Patrick Hope, Michelle Lopes Maldonado, Sam Rasoul, Marcus Simon, Elizabeth Guzman, Cliff Hayes Jr., Kaye Kory, Delores McQuinn, Marcia price, Shelly Simonds, and Angelia Williams Graves.
The broad terminology of “mental or emotional disorder” leaves unanswered questions regarding what medical conditions would fall under that umbrella.
Extending this kind of authority to minors provides for something of a “slippery slope,” one doctor claimed.
Dr. Nicole Saphier warned that “the reasons provisions have been put in place limiting responsibilities in kids is because their ability to make important decisions and overall thought processes have not been fully developed.”
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While gender isn’t mentioned in this measure, one of its patrons, Delegate Guzman, recently came under fire for wanting to punish parents who don’t affirm LGBT children. “It could be a felony, it could be a misdemeanor, but we know that CPS charge could harm your employment, could harm their education, because nowadays, many people do a CPS database search before offering employment,” she told WJLA in October.
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Notably, another bill introduced in Virginia’s House this month seeks to bar physicians from providing gender transition treatments to those under the age of 18.
Currently, the University of Virginia Children’s Hospital, which has been ranked as the No. 1 children’s hospital in the state, offers gender transition procedures to children starting at 11 years old. Its services include providing puberty-blocking drugs, cross-sex hormones, and referrals for surgery.