Puerto Rico’s LGBTQ+ Federation on Thursday denounced a recently passed law that prohibits the use of puberty blockers, hormone treatment, and gender-affirming surgeries for anybody under the age of 21. The law, called the Law for the Protection of the Health and Wellbeing of Minors in Puerto Rico, imposes a sentence of up to 15 years and a $50,000 fine on offenders. The law effectively prohibits “medical procedures or surgeries that alter the biological sex of minors under the pretext of a gender transition, including irreversible hormonal interventions.” Additionally, the law aims to revoke the licenses of any medical professional in contravention.

Pedro Julio Serrano, the president of La Federación LGBTQ+ de Puerto Rico, said that the law targets transgender minors and their families trying to better their life opportunities. He also said that the federation is looking to seek legal recourse, challenging the constitutionality of the law. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Puerto Rico also criticized the law, stating that the law not only “criminalizes mothers, fathers and doctors, but directly discriminates against transgender people and denies the existence of trans childhood and youth.” Serrano also criticized Governor Jenniffer González-Colón, telling The Advocate that “Jenniffer González, through her actions, declares herself the most anti-equality governor in history. She ignored her own Secretary of Health and the medical associations that support treatment for trans minors.” 

Prior to the bill’s passage, parents of trans youth lobbied the governor to veto the bill after it passed the Puerto Rican Senate, but she instead sent it back and ordered modifications. GLAAD, a non-profit focused on LGBTQ+ advocacy, along with the Federation, released a joint statement condemning the bill:

Every person in Puerto Rico deserves to live free from discrimination and with access to essential health care. Every major medical association supports health care for transgender people and youth. Banning this care and stripping the rights of parents to make the best medical decisions for their families would create unbearable burdens for the most marginalized in Puerto Rico. Lawmakers must vote to protect access to health care that saves lives, and allow families to make private health care decisions that help loved ones be themselves, be safe, and to thrive.

The US Supreme Court recently upheld a Tennessee law prohibiting gender-affirming care for people under 18 years of age. Multiple US states have passed laws banning transgender health care, with some states even considering banning care for trans people up to 26 years of age. The Tennessee law, like Puerto Rico’s, permits such hormonal and surgical treatments to treat congenital defects or other medical conditions unrelated to gender dysphoria.