Puerto Rico law criminalizes hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgery for transgender people under 21

Puerto Rico’s governor has signed a bill that prohibits hormone therapy or gender-affirming surgeries for transgender youth, a move that has drawn sharp criticism from activists in the largely conservative United States territory. Puerto Rican Gov. Jennifer Gonzalez approved the law late Wednesday, following a wave of similar legislation passed across the U.S.

The law applies to people younger than 21 and calls for 15 years in prison for any violators, as well as a $50,000 penalty and the revocation of all licenses and permits of medical staff.

“Minors, having not yet reached the necessary emotional, cognitive, and physical maturity, are particularly vulnerable to making decisions that can have irreversible consequences,” the law reads. “Therefore, it is the State’s duty to ensure their comprehensive well-being.”

It also states that public funds cannot be used for such purposes.

Puerto Rico’s LGBTQ+ Federation criticized the law in a statement Thursday.

“Let there be no doubt: We will go to court to challenge the constitutionality of the governor’s cruel and inhumane signing of a law that criminalizes health professionals for caring for trans minors,” said Justin Jesús Santiago, the federation’s director.

Puerto Rico associations that represent physicians, surgeons, psychologists, social workers, lawyers and other professionals had urged the governor to veto the bill.

Roughly two dozen U.S. states have similar laws. The Supreme Court recently upheld one such law from Tennessee, which restricts gender-affirming care for transgender minors, in a decision that is expected to significantly impact access to medical care for transgender young people in half of the country.

GLAAD, a nonprofit organization focused on LGBTQ rights advocacy and media monitoring, were among the critics that had urged Gonzalez to veto the bill after it passed through Puerto Rico’s legislatures. In a statement released jointly with the LGBTQ+ Federation earlier this month, the organization said such restrictions “would create unbearable burdens for the most marginalized in Puerto Rico.”