© Rogelio V. Solis/APMississippi Gov. Tate Reeves announces the state-imposed boil-water notice has been lifted in Mississippi's capital city after nearly seven weeks, during a Sept. 15, 2022, news conference in Jackson.
The bill, known as the Regulate Experimental Adolescent Procedures, or REAP, Act, will bar health providers in the state from performing gender transition surgeries or prescribing puberty blockers to people under 18.
"There is a dangerous movement spreading across America today," Reeves said at the bill's signing. "It's advancing under the guise of a false ideology and pseudoscience being pushed onto our children through radical activists, social media, and online influencers. And it's trying to convince our children that they are in the wrong body. I stand before you today to sign legislation that puts a stop to this in Mississippi and protects our kids."
The legislation will also prevent public funds from going toward prohibited procedures for minors.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi had called on the governor to veto the bill, calling the legislation an attempt to "penalize parents and healthcare providers for supporting Mississippi youth during their most challenging years."
Mississippi is one of several states that have adopted new restrictions on transgender treatments for people under 18. Earlier this month, Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) signed legislation that will limit access to puberty blockers, hormone treatments, and gender transition surgeries for people younger than 18.
Comment: A step in the right direction. Meanwhile, states like Vermont and California are positioning themselves as "sanctuary" states for gender surgeries and hormones, perhaps unconstitutionally. See Josh Slocum's reporting on the topic below: