A bill that would prohibit the administration of drugs or procedures meant to modify gender to minors is set to be sent back to the Texas Senate.
A prior version of Senate Bill 14 was passed by the Senate on April 4. The Texas House passed SB 14 with one amendment after more than a month of debate and delay, sending the legislation back to the Senate for consideration as amended.
The amendment, introduced by Representative Tom Oliverson (R-Cypress), who sponsored the legislation in the House, adds the following section to the bill:
“If any provision of this Act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this Act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this Act are declared to be severable.”
Eighteen other amendments, many of which would have narrowed the scope of SB 14’s prohibitions, failed in the House on Friday.
As amended, SB 14 passed the Texas House by a record vote of 92-48.
Several members have since reported, however, that their votes on the bill were miscounted.
Reps. Rhetta Andrews Bowers (D-Rowlett), Jessica González (D-Dallas), Christian Manuel (D-Beaumont), and Penny Morales Shaw (D-Houston) were recorded as voting in the affirmative. All four later entered into the record that they intended to vote against the bill.
Four other Democrats — Alma Allen (Houston), Suleman Lalani (Sugar Land), Armando Martinez (Weslaco), and Mary Ann Perez (Houston) — have also claimed that their votes were miscounted, though these disputes have yet to be entered into the record.
Rep. Charlie Geren (R-Fort Worth) was recorded as voting in the negative but affirmed that he meant to vote in favor of the legislation.
Democratic Reps. Tracy King (Batesville), Shawn Thierry (Houston), and Harold Dutton (Houston) also voted in favor of the bill. King and Thierry have since confirmed their votes, while Dutton has yet to comment either way.
Thierry released a statement on Friday explaining her decision to vote for SB 14, pointing to other laws that “are in place because we recognize that children should be protected from actions and activities which have harmful health risks, or lifelong consequences.”
“This same logic must also apply when approaching the very complex issue of treating gender and body dysphoria in children,” the statement suggested.
“It is only honest to admit and accept, that little is known about the long-term effects of prescribing taking GnRH-analogs (i.e. ‘puberty blockers’) and cross sex hormones to children as young as 8, 9, and 10 years of age solely for the purpose of affirming gender dysphoria,” Thierry asserted.
“What we do know is that these drugs can cause harm to a child’s health including early onset of osteoporosis, incontinence, increased risk of blood clotting, stroke and heart attack, infertility and sterility,” she continued.
Critics of SB 14, however, argue that such treatments, and others the legislation would restrict, are necessary for the well-being of minors who identify with a gender that does not match their biological sex.
Equality Texas, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, described SB 14 on Friday as “a bill that would irrevocably affect the lives of trans kids, parents, medical providers and LGBTQ+ communities,” alleging that “lawmakers are making the decision to deny them care without even hearing from them.”
The group claimed further “that every legitimate medical association is in agreement that bills like #SB14 are dangerous, discriminatory and have no business being passed.”
The final House vote on the amended version of SB 14 is expected Monday, after which it will be sent back to the Senate. Despite the bipartisan support in the House, none of the Texas Senate’s 12 Democratic members voted in favor of SB 14 when it passed through the chamber in April.
