A vocal group of around 60 people gathered with signs and megaphones at the Capitol to voice their concerns Feb. 17 against Senate Bill 915.

The bill would bar physicians and healthcare providers from administering any gender transition procedure for individuals under the age of 18. The bill defines such procedures as “any physician’s service, inpatient and outpatient hospital service, puberty blocking drug, cross-sex hormone, genital gender reassignment surgery, or non-genital gender reassignment surgery.”

The bill is an attack on trans youth, according to organizer and activist for gender expansive rights Amira Pierotti.

“All of the mythology that comes out of [saying] ‘Trans youth aren’t able to make these decisions for themselves’ is based on transphobia … even though it may not have malintent, this misunderstanding is very costly,” Pierotti said.

The Badger Herald reached out to Senators André Jacque, R-DePere, and Kathleen Bernier, R-Chippewa Falls — two of the representatives who introduced the bill Feb. 1 — but neither office responded to requests for comment.

The Herald also contacted the University of Wisconsin’s Gender and Sexuality Campus Center’s Program Coordinator Whitney Anderson, who said the GSCC is unable to comment on pending legislation.

The legislation comes as a late ripple in the larger wave of similar bills that swept across the U.S. in 2021. That year saw 23 bills regarding the restriction of transitional healthcare for youth across 16 states.

Until now, two bills have been introduced, 14 are still in committee, one has passed through its state’s senate and four are currently dead in the water. The only one of these bills to have made it all the way through its state legislature was Arkansas HB 1750 in March of 2021.

What makes WI SB 915 particularly noteworthy in comparison to others is its wide-sweeping definition of gender transitional procedures. It includes psychiatric care and counseling as a form of social transitioning, meaning these would also be off limits and physicians could be subject to legal punishment for administering them. The bill also forgoes the ability of a parental guardian’s consent to override the law’s restrictions.

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The bill would need to be signed by Gov. Tony Evers, who vocally opposed bills that would ban transgender youth athletes from competing in girls sports in May 2021.

“I very seldom think about a veto before I actually see the bills, but anytime we decide to take a certain group of kids and prevent them from reaching their full potential, that’s a problem,” Evers said, according to Channel3000.

In 2019, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry published a statement in support of the use of current evidence-based clinical care with people under 18. AACAP also stated they oppose any attempt to block access to such interventions.

Supporters of bills like SB 915 often cite de-transitioning — the decision later in life to reverse the procedures they had undergone previously to return to their assigned gender — as a concern for youth who are seeking medical gender transition.

Arkansas representative Robin Lundstrum was the lead sponsor for AR HB 1570, which passed in 2021.

“These kids deserve to be loved and cherished, and let’s let them wait until they are 18 until they make a serious decision that they can’t take back,” Lundstrum said in a statement.

In a 2015 survey by the National Center for Transgender Equality, over 90% of the 28,000 transgender respondents said they had not de-transitioned in any capacity. A different 50-year survey released in 2010 revealed that roughly 2% of the 767 transgender participants regretted undergoing gender-affirming surgery in Sweden.

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One such solution to transitioning before someone may be ready to do so are puberty blockers, which place the changes a person goes through during puberty on pause, often giving time for individuals and their families to weigh their options as well generally improving mental health for those taking them.

SB 915 would also ban the prescription of puberty blockers, something Pierotti has been keen to point out as  counter-intuitive.

Despite the continued push by some representatives to limit options for trans youth and by-passers walking directly through their protest, Pierotti came away feeling empowered afterward and optimistic about the future.

“It doesn’t have to be like this,” Pierotti said. “I’m a trans youth, I’m very much happy to sit down with anyone to explain this because shouting at each other isn’t working.”