Puerto Rico’s new legislation features a jail sentence of 15 years, a $50,000 nice, and the revocation of all licenses and permits for violators
Puerto Rico has enacted a brand new legislation banning intercourse change surgical procedure and hormone remedy for people below 21, setting the next age restrict than any related laws throughout the US. This aligns with the gender-related insurance policies pursued by the federal authorities.
Signed on Wednesday, the legislation introduces harsh penalties, together with as much as 15 years in jail and fines of as much as $50,000, for these discovered responsible of performing surgical procedure or offering hormone substitute remedy to minors and younger adults. It additionally mandates the revocation of all licenses and permits of medical personnel concerned. The legislation additionally prohibits the usage of public funds for these remedies.
“Minors, having not but reached the mandatory emotional, cognitive, and bodily maturity, are notably susceptible to creating selections that may have irreversible penalties,” the laws, set to take impact in October, states.
Puerto Rico’s LGBTQ+ Federation has condemned the measure as discriminatory and harmful, warning it would additional isolate trans youth and doubtlessly drive them to hunt unregulated or unsafe options. Director Justin Jesus Santiago has vowed to problem the legislation’s constitutionality in courtroom, arguing it contradicts Puerto Rico’s structure.
US President Donald Trump made gender-related points a central theme of his marketing campaign final 12 months. Since taking workplace, he has issued govt orders asserting the federal government coverage that “there are solely two genders – female and male.”
These orders roll again protections for transgender rights, in addition to range, fairness, and inclusion applications. They finish federal help for medical procedures associated to intercourse change for minors, get rid of “radical gender ideology” from the US Armed Forces, and bar trans ladies from competing in ladies’s sports activities.
Trump’s strategy has drawn criticism from civil rights and LGBTQ advocacy teams. A number of directives have confronted authorized challenges, with federal judges blocking some orders.
Puerto Rico’s legislation stands out amongst dozens of comparable measures handed in round half of the states. Whereas most legal guidelines apply to people below 18, Puerto Rico raises the age restrict to 21, making it the strictest laws at the moment in impact in any US jurisdiction.
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