Current:Home > NewsNebraska is imposing a 7-day wait for trans youth to start gender-affirming medications -Elevate Money Guide
Nebraska is imposing a 7-day wait for trans youth to start gender-affirming medications
View
Date:2025-04-13 06:20:52
Nebraska is requiring transgender youth seeking gender-affirming care to wait seven days to start puberty blocking medications or hormone treatments under emergency regulations announced Sunday by the state health department.
The regulations also require transgender minors to undergo at least 40 hours of “gender-identity-focused” therapy that are “clinically neutral” before receiving any medical treatments meant to affirm their gender identities. A new law that took effect Sunday bans gender-affirming surgeries for trans youth under 19 and also required the state’s chief medical officer to spell out when and how those youth can receive other care.
The state Department of Health and Human Services announcement that Republican Gov. Jim Pillen had approved the emergency regulations came after families, doctors and even lawmakers said they had largely gotten no response from the department on when the regulations would be in place. They worried that Pillen’s administration was slow-walking them to block treatments for transgender youth who hadn’t already started them.
“The law went into effect today, which is when the emergency regulations were put in place,” department spokesperson Jeff Powell said in an email Sunday to The Associated Press. “Nothing was slow-walked.”
The new regulations remain in effect while the department takes public comments on a permanent set of rules. The agency said it plans to release a proposed final version by the end of October and then have a public hearing on Nov. 28 in Lincoln, the state capital.
Nebraska’s ban on gender-affirming surgeries for minors and its restrictions on other gender-affirming care were part of a wave of measures rolling back transgender rights in Republican-controlled statehouse across the U.S.
At least 22 states have enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors, and most of those states face lawsuits. An Arkansas ban mirroring Nebraska’s was struck down by a federal judge in June as unconstitutional and will be appealed to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court, which also handles Nebraska cases.
During the signing ceremony for the new Nebraska law, Pillen suggested that children and their parents who seek gender-affirming treatment are being “duped,” adding, “that is absolutely Lucifer at its finest.” The state’s chief medical officer, Dr. Timothy Tesmer, is a Pillen appointee.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends gender-affirming care for people under 18, citing an increased risk of suicide for transgender teens.
Nebraska’s new regulations require that a patient’s parents or legal guardians be involved in any treatment, including the 40 required hours of therapy. It also requires at least one hour of therapy every three months after that care starts “to evaluate ongoing effects on a patient’s mental health.”
The seven-day waiting period for puberty blockers or hormone treatments would start when a doctor receives a signed consent form from a parent or legal guardian. Patients who are emancipated minors also could sign off on their own.
The department said in an online document meant to answer frequently asked questions that the waiting period would give patients and their families “enough time to weigh the risks and benefits of treatment.”
The same document says that the required 40 hours of therapy would allow doctors “to develop a thorough understanding of a patient’s needs.”
veryGood! (99934)
Related
- Who are the most valuable sports franchises? Forbes releases new list of top 50 teams
- Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine vetoes bill banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors
- 'All Thing Considered' staff shares their most memorable stories from 2023
- Google settles $5 billion privacy lawsuit over tracking people using 'incognito mode'
- Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
- Skateboarder Jagger Eaton Shares the Golden Moment With Kobe Bryant That Changed His Life
- Argentina formally announces it won’t join the BRICS alliance in Milei’s latest policy shift
- California is expanding health care coverage for low-income immigrants in the new year
- What to know about Tuesday’s US House primaries to replace Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz
- Thousands accuse Serbia’s ruling populists of election fraud at a Belgrade rally
Ranking
- Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas
- Live updates | Tens of thousands of Palestinians stream into Rafah as Israel expands its offensive
- Dart leads No. 11 Ole Miss to 38-25 Peach Bowl rout of No. 10 Penn State’s proud defense
- In a crisis-ridden world, Germany’s chancellor uses his New Year’s speech to convey confidence
- Civic engagement nonprofits say democracy needs support in between big elections. Do funders agree?
- RFK Jr. meets signature threshold in Utah to qualify for ballot
- New Year's resolutions experts say to skip — or how to tweak them for success
- Israeli-French hostage recounts harrowing experience in captivity
Recommendation
As Trump Enters Office, a Ripe Oil and Gas Target Appears: An Alabama National Forest
A tumultuous last 2023 swing through New Hampshire for Nikki Haley
Missouri closes strong to defeat shorthanded Ohio State in Cotton Bowl
Jail call recording shows risk to witnesses in Tupac Shakur killing case, Las Vegas prosecutors say
A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
Shirley Bassey and Ridley Scott are among hundreds awarded in UK’s New Year Honors list
Bollywood celebrates rocking year, riding high on action flicks, unbridled masculinity and misogyny
'All Thing Considered' staff shares their most memorable stories from 2023