How Alberta’s Child Gender Transition Restrictions Compare to US States’

Alberta’s sweeping changes on restricting medical transition for children is a first in Canada in the face of ever-increasing numbers of children surgically altering their bodies. Before the province’s latest announced policies, a number of U.S. states implemented their own bans on changing the bodies of minors. In 2023, Florida passed legislation that bans gender-reassignment prescriptions and procedures for those under 18. The legislation also allows the state to step in and take custody of a child if they are under 18 and there is concern that gender-reassignment treatments are being used or will be used on the child. Shortly after Florida passed the legislation, Texas also passed a law that restricts health care providers from performing gender reassignment surgery on those under 18 years of age. Health care providers are also prohibited from providing or prescribing puberty blockers or hormone therapies meant to change a child’s body to that of a different sex....