A bill that bans gender-affirming care for minors in West Virginia is now on the desk of GOP Gov. Jim Justice. West Virginia, along with eight other states in the nation, have passed legislation that would ban the controversial gender-affirming care for all minors under the age of 18.

The legislation is aimed at banning what many conservatives and child advocates say is dangerous medical procedures that can rarely be reversed.  As of yet, Gov. Justice has not made a public statement on the legislation but many parents are becoming more vocal about opposing the extreme process of transitioning before the age of 18.

Recently at CPAC, detransitioner Chloe Cole spoke out against a very painful decision that allowed her parents to approve transitioning from a female to a male starting at the age of 12, as stated in the The Daily Signal.

“Cole, who began detransitioning at 17 and since has gone on to oppose gender transition in minors, spoke to The Daily Signal about how transgender ideology is pushed on children and parents almost everywhere.

The health care system quickly foisted the transition process on her, Cole says.

“I was 12 when I started socially transitioning,” Cole recalled. “And at 13, I was diagnosed with [gender] dysphoria and put on puberty blockers and testosterone. And at 15, when I was just a sophomore in high school, I had a double mastectomy, my breasts removed.”

She said she “stopped transitioning” at 16.”

A study conducted by UCLA in 2017 showed that West Virginia had more trans-youth per capita then any other state in the nation.

West Virginia isn’t the only state pushing bills on banning gender-affirming care for minors though. Montana recently passed senate bill 99 which was introduced by GOP Sen. John Fuller that bans all gender-affirming care for minors in order to allow time for those minors to evaluate wether or not they are experiencing gender dysphoria.

Puzzling, but every major medical organization supports gender-affirming care for minors despite the very real questions surrounding the process before the age of 18. It’s puzzling because scientists agree, for the most part, that  evidences that a human being’s decision making part of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, does not fully develop until mid to late 20s. The question then is how can a minor make such an extreme decision when it comes to the life altering consequences of transitioning from one gender to another.

Furthermore, the bill will outlaw anyone under the age of 18 from being prescribed hormone therapy and fully reversible medication for suspending the physical changes of puberty. The bill will also ban all gender-affirming surgeries for children under the age of 18. Gender-affirming surgeries include facial surgeries, top surgeries and bottom surgeries, according to the legislation.

In an update to the bill that was pushed by Senate Majority leader Tom Takubo, some transgender youth will be allowed to continue receiving medical interventions if the gender dysphoria they are experiencing is severe enough.

You can follow Alexander Carter on Twitter @AlexCarterDC