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Louisiana lawmakers override veto, will ban sex changes for kids

July 20, 2023 Catholic News Agency 3
The Louisiana Legislature on July 18, 2023, overrode the Democratic governor’s veto of legislation banning transgender surgeries and treatments for minors. / Jeffrey Schwartz|Wikipedia|CC BY 2.0

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 20, 2023 / 14:50 pm (CNA).

Louisiana will become the 20th state to outlaw sex change operations for children after the Republican-led Legislature overrode the Democratic governor’s veto of the legislation.

The bill, which will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2024, will prohibit doctors from performing sex change surgeries on anyone under the age of 18. The legislation will also ban doctors from prescribing drugs that are meant to facilitate a sex change, such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy, for patients who are minors.

Rep. Gabe Firment, the primary sponsor of the legislation, said in a statement that the override is a “huge win” for Louisiana children.

“We made it clear today that our children are worth fighting for,” Firment said in the July 18 statement. “This great victory would not have been possible without the prayers and support of parents, grandparents, pastors, and grassroots organizations from around the state who rose up and declared with one voice that ‘no one in Louisiana has the right to harm a child.’ God bless the families of our beautiful state!”

The new law will prohibit any sterilizing surgery on a minor, such as the removal of male or female genitals. It will also prohibit surgeries that would artificially construct tissue that is meant to appear like the genitalia of the opposite sex. Doctors will also not be allowed to remove healthy female breasts for girls or perform breast augmentation surgery on boys or girls.

Other surgeries that remove healthy or non-diseased parts of the body on a minor will also be prohibited, such as facial reconstruction surgery, hair reconstruction surgery, voice surgery, or other aesthetic surgeries designed to facilitate a gender transition.

The law will prohibit doctors from prescribing any drugs that are intended to delay or suppress puberty in a child and will not allow doctors to provide estrogen or testosterone treatments on minors in amounts that would be greater than what would naturally occur in a person of the same sex at that child’s age.

If a doctor has already prescribed these drugs to a minor, the doctor must either immediately halt the treatment or wean the child off of the drugs if necessary. A medical professional who violates the law will have his or her medical license suspended for a minimum of two years and could be subject to civil litigation from the patient. The law does not establish any criminal penalties.

The legislation creates an exception for medically necessary procedures to treat infections, injuries, physical disorders, or physical illnesses. There is also an exception for children born with a medically verifiable sex disorder, such as children who are born with ambiguous sex characteristics.

Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards criticized the Legislature’s overriding of his veto.

“Today, I was overridden for the second time on my veto of a bill that needlessly harms a very small population of vulnerable children, their families, and their health care professionals,” the governor said. “I expect the courts to throw out this unconstitutional bill as well.”

Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry voiced his support of the override in a statement, saying: “The woke liberal agendas that are destructive to children will not be tolerated in Louisiana.”

“We have sent a signal to America that Louisiana intends to strengthen the family unit and to protect children from harmful gender reassignment surgeries … and I’m proud of those in the Legislature who voted to make this override successful,” Landry said.

Louisiana became the 20th state to prohibit sex change surgeries for children, but the practice is still legal in most states.

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No Picture
News Briefs

Two more anti-Catholic attacks: church in El Paso and school in Denver

July 19, 2023 Catholic News Agency 2
F*** religion,’ ‘Satans watching,’ ‘666,’ and an upside down cross were drawn on the side of Annunciation Catholic School in Denver in June. / Annunciation Catholic Church

Boston, Mass., Jul 19, 2023 / 14:20 pm (CNA).

Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in northeast El Paso, Texas, was vandalized on July 17.

The parish did not release information about the vandalism, citing an ongoing investigation by the El Paso Police Department. 

“The Most Holy Trinity Catholic Community and Diocese of El Paso [wish] to thank our local law enforcement for their attention in regard to this matter. We ask for your prayers for all involved as we continue to work with law enforcement on this matter,” the church said in a Facebook post Monday.

According to the El Paso Times, a police unit that investigates hate crimes is on the case.

A month ago, on June 16, two vandals were caught on camera drawing anti-Catholic graffiti on the walls of Annunciation Catholic School in Denver. 

“F*** religion,” “Satans watching,” “666,” and an upside-down cross were drawn on the side of the school building. 

Father Charles Polifka, OFM Cap, pastor of the school’s affiliated church, told CNA Wednesday that his message to the vandals is one of “forgiveness.” 

“So many people are not getting the message of what we teach or they’re not getting a message of the Gospel at all,” he said.

“They’re not getting a message of peace. They’re not getting a message of reconciliation or anything like that. It’s all violence that they’re getting. They’re getting it from their music, they’re getting it from everywhere except from the church,” he said.

“And I think that’s what causes it,” he added.

“There’s no doubt about giving them forgiveness. I was often thinking that the police statues are going to be justice. But if we get ahold of you, it’s going to be mercy,” he said.

In July, two arrests were made in separate incidents of vandalism at Catholic churches in the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York. 

Another attack on a Catholic church in Miami occurred in early June, resulting in the arrest of a 44-year-old woman who allegedly spray-painted the words “perverts,” “pigs,” “liars,” and an upside-down cross on the church wall, a sign, and columns within the courtyard of the church’s school.

In May, a 41-year-old woman was arrested and charged in connection with causing more than $78,000 in damages in an arson attack at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines, Illinois.

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