In a move that has sparked controversy, the New York state legislature has put forward a bill that, if passed, would permit minors to consent to sex change procedures without the need for parental approval.
The proposed legislation, New York Assembly Bill A06761, was introduced by Democratic state Assemblywoman Karines Reyes in January. The bill's language suggests that homeless youth would be granted the ability to "give effective consent to certain medical, dental, health, and hospital services."
Critics of the bill, including parental advocates, have voiced their concerns to the Daily Caller, warning that the legislation's wording is intentionally ambiguous, potentially allowing minors to authorize their own sex change treatments without parental consent. The proposed law would also prohibit physicians from informing parents about their child's medical or mental health treatments unless explicitly requested by the child.
Sarah Parshall Perry, a senior legal fellow at the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at the Heritage Foundation, expressed her concerns to the outlet, stating that the legislation appears to be a deliberate attempt to bypass laws requiring parental approval for a child's sex change procedures.
Parshall Perry noted, "When we paint children as incapable of making contracts, voting, getting a tattoo or registering for the draft, while saying they have sufficient maturity and intelligence to be able to make consequential decisions about long term healthcare; decisions that will affect their bodies, potentially for the rest of their lives. That is distinctly an effort to evade parental notification and parental involvement [in cases] where parents arent supportive of the junk science."
Michael Kane, a former special education teacher turned advocate, also expressed his apprehensions, warning that educators and guidance counselors could become state instruments if the bill is enacted. He explained that school staff in New York are already mandated to "affirm" a child's gender dysphoria or face disciplinary action.
Kane further cautioned that school administrators could potentially assume control over a child's welfare, as teachers may be too fearful of retaliation or job loss to voice their concerns.
The proposed bill comes amidst reports of significant adverse effects from transgender sex change procedures, including liver damage, blood clots, bone damage, and fertility issues. Sex change surgeries often have serious consequences and require multiple follow-up procedures.
Assemblywoman Karines Reyes defended the bill, stating to Bronx News 12 that it was designed to assist "a very small fraction of young people who are currently falling through the cracks" in accessing necessary medical services, such as receiving a flu shot. However, critics argue that Reyes's comments are misleading, pointing to the bill's text, which states that "any person, including a minor, who comprehends the need for, the nature of, and the reasonably foreseeable risks and benefits may give effective consent to such services for themself."
Parshall Perry warned that the bill, which she described as "unconstitutional," could leave parents uninformed about their child's "emergency complications." She told the outlet, "Were reading more and more now about the parade of complications, everything from hemorrhaging to tissue necrosis to loss of sexual function to incontinence. Then youve got parents, not only cut out of the loop when it comes to the primary decision-making on medical care, but then you dont inform them after the fact whether the care has been acquired, putting them in a situation not to even be involved if there are emergency complications. The New York assembly and the state of New York is setting itself up for a massive lawsuit."
In 2023, New York's Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul signed a law designating New York as a sanctuary state for child sex changes.
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