The Mississippi House of Representatives has passed a bill that bars the medical community from providing medical treatment, including mutilation surgery, for minors.
Considering the fact that minors are legally barred from a number of things, House Speaker Philip Gunn (R) says the bill makes sense.
"Anyone below the age of 18 can't enter into contracts. They can't buy alcohol or cigarettes. They can't vote. They can't get married," Gunn lists. "We're all aware of decisions that children are not allowed to make until they reach the age of majority."
He says irreversible and harmful so-called gender-affirming treatments essentially turn people into medical experiments, not the opposite gender. So in an effort to protect minors, the Regulate Experimental Adolescent Procedures (REAP) Act (HB 1125) encourages medical professionals to comply.
"It's got a 30-year statute of limitations in there," which gives any individual who undergoes a mutilative surgery 30 years to sue the doctor. "So there're tremendous incentives for a physician not to engage in that activity before the child is 18 years of age," says Gunn. "They could lose their license and be open to lawsuits for 30 years."
With a 78-28 vote, the health bill recently sailed through the House and has been handed to the Mississippi Senate for consideration.
