The Austin City Council (ACC) in Texas voted in favor of a resolution supporting transgender individuals seeking gender affirmation surgery on Thursday, directly contradicting state laws that prohibit such surgeries for minors under 18. The ACC passed the resolution with a vote of 10 to 1, directing city resources to no longer enforce state law SB 14, which bans “gender transition or gender reassignment surgery or treatment” for minors.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton stated that on May 2, 2024, the Austin City Council passed a resolution allegedly instructing city managers and employees not to comply with Texas laws prohibiting the use of puberty blockers, transgender hormones, and gender transition surgeries for children who believe their gender differs from their assigned sex at birth.
Paxton emphasized that the resolution is deeply flawed as it falsely claims these banned treatments as “evidence-based, medically necessary, and life-saving.” Contrary to such claims, Paxton underscored that medical research increasingly refutes these assertions, leading Texas to conclude that these treatments for minors are dangerous, hence the enactment of SB 14 to ban them.
The Attorney General asserted that his office stands prepared to ensure Austin complies with state laws. He warned that if the city council refuses to adhere to the law and protect children, his office will explore all possible measures to enforce compliance. Paxton emphasized that Texas municipal governments have no authority to choose which state laws they will abide by, as the people of Texas have spoken, and the Austin City Council must listen.
The resolution was introduced by Council Member Chito Vela representing District 4, with four other council members – Ryan Alter, Zo Qadri, José Velásquez, and Vanessa Fuentes – serving as co-sponsors. The lone dissenting vote came from Council Member Mackenzie Kelly of District 6.
The resolution outlined that the city government’s policy prohibits the use of any city personnel, funds, or resources to investigate, criminally prosecute, or administratively penalize transgender individuals or non-binary individuals seeking healthcare, or individuals or organizations assisting in providing healthcare to them, unless required by law.
Furthermore, the resolution directed the Austin police force to treat SB 14 as a low priority for enforcement. However, Paxton dismissed the resolution as a “hollow political statement” since each provision urges city officials to defy SB 14 and includes conditional statements such as “unless required by law.” He criticized ACC for instructing city managers and staff to comply with the law while appearing to say otherwise.
Mary Elizabeth Castle, Director of Government Relations at Texas Values, expressed outrage over the council’s decision to support pediatric gender transition surgeries, highlighting the council’s historical prioritization of false statements over citizen health and safety.
According to Castle, the resolution fundamentally sidesteps concrete enforcement of the law, instead directing local law enforcement entities such as police departments and district attorneys without the authority granted by SB 14 to disregard the law. She condemned the resolution as a sham meant to give the appearance that the Austin City Council will not comply with the law.
Castle noted that in the past, the ACC had instructed law enforcement to either ignore complaints about laws related to issues they disagreed with, or to delay action on them.
Today’s action sends a signal to the broader Austin community that pediatric gender transition surgeries are not a big deal, when in reality, changing a child’s gender can be deadly and dangerous, Castle emphasized.
A recent long-term study from the Netherlands found that many adolescents who question their identity and gender eventually outgrow these doubts as they mature. The study also revealed that questioning one’s identity is a normal and rather common part of development.
In 2023, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed SB 14 into law, prohibiting any doctor or healthcare provider from altering the biological sex determined by a child’s genitalia, chromosomes, and endogenous characteristics, or affirming a child’s gender perception if it differs from their biological sex.
The law also prohibits physicians from performing various gender-affirming surgeries on minors, including castration, hysterectomy, uterine shaping procedures, and testicle removal surgeries.
Texas also bans transgender-related prescription drugs such as puberty blockers and supra-physiological doses of testosterone for females, or estrogen for males.