New Texas ‘trans ban’ bill aims to completely eradicate gender-affirming care in the state
An LGBTQ+ protest in Texas (Getty)
A newly-filed bill – Texas HB3399, which is also being described locally as the “Texas trans ban” – could officially end gender-affirming care for people of all ages in the state if passed.
Filed on Wednesday (26 February), the Texas House bill would amend existing law in the state to restrict hormone therapy, gender-reassignment surgery, and other related healthcare practices for everyone.
Introduced by Republican Brent Money, the bill prevents what it describes as “transitioning a person’s biological sex as determined by the sex organs, chromosomes, and endogenous profiles of the person.”
It would completely ban surgeries including vasectomies, hysterectomies, oophorectomies, metoidioplasties, orchiectomies, penectomies, phalloplasties, and vaginoplasties for the purposes of gender-affirmation.
Additionally, healthcare professionals who provide hormone suppressants – such as estrogen, testosterone, or puberty blockers- for the purposes of gender-affirmation could face fines or prison time.
Gender-affirming care for trans youth has been banned in Texas since 1 September 2023 after a Senate bill outlawing medical care for under-18s and forbidding private healthcare providers from prescribing puberty blockers was passed.
Brent Money, a Republican House lawmaker, has previously signalled his disdain for trans people, saying in a post in April 2024 that he agrees with Texas governor Greg Abbott when he suggested that trans people should be banned from teaching in public schools.
He has also previously said that he believes gender to be a “biological binary” and that anyone who thinks otherwise is “deluded or lying.”
The bill is part of a widespread attack on LGBTQ+ rights in the US. In recent years, lawmakers across several states have introduced thousands of bills attacking LGBTQ+ people, particularly trans and non-binary people.
At the time of reporting, 456 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced since the beginning of 2025 alone, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). 533 bills were introduced in 2024, with 49 passing into law, while 510 were introduced in 2023, with 88 passing into law.
Texas has seen one of the biggest pushbacks on LGBTQ+ rights, with 59 anti-LGBTQ+ bills being introduced since the beginning of 2025.
These include bills banning trans people from competitive sports in schools, rollbacks of DEI initiatives in public organisations, prohibiting teachers from supporting a trans person’s transition, and more.
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