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The 10th Circuit has upheld Oklahoma’s law prohibiting gender transition procedures on children under the age of 18.

Senate Bill 613, authored by Senate Majority Floor Leader Julie Daniels, R-Bartlesville, and Rep. Toni Hasenbeck, R-Elgin, was enacted in 2023. It prohibits medications designed to delay or suppress puberty and surgical procedures that alter or remove physical or anatomical characteristics or features that are typical for the individual’s biological sex. 

The court found the state has a legitimate interest in restricting these procedures to preserve the health and welfare of its minor citizens. The 10th Circuit also added that there was “no evidence” the Legislature enacted this law with the intent to “discriminate against transgender minors.”

“I welcome this ruling, which affirms the Oklahoma Legislature acted well within its authority to protect children from irreversible gender transition procedures,” Daniels said. “I am especially grateful the court acknowledged SB 613 was not motivated by discrimination, but by the state’s interest in safeguarding the long-term health and well-being of all children in our state.”

The Tenth Circuit’s opinion comes after the U.S. Supreme Court in June affirmed in U.S. v Skrmetti that states have the authority to regulate and ban gender transition procedures for minors. These state actions do not violate the equal protection clause or due process clause of the US Constitution.

“This law protects children from making life-changing, medical decisions until they reach some level of maturity and can better understand the risks to their long-term health,” Daniels said. “The mental health challenges of gender dysphoria are very real. These young people and their families deserve to have attention focused on behavioral and mental health care, not rushing them into making adult decisions as a child.”