Tue Feb 1, 2022 – 8:13 pm EST
(LifeSiteNews) — A Washington state law that forces insurance providers to cover gender mutilation surgeries for children as young as 13 without parental consent went into effect in January.
SB 5313 mandates that insurance companies must cover so-called “gender affirming,” “transgender” surgical procedures for adolescents, including castration, mastectomies, and tracheal shaves, without parental consent, despite the fact that parents would pay for the prescribed treatment as policyholders, according to Seattle radio host Jason Rantz.
The new law, dubbed the “Gender Affirming Treatment Act,” stipulates that “a health carrier may not deny or limit coverage” for “gender affirming treatment” “consistent with a person’s gender expression” “when prescribed as medically necessary.”
The act expands upon SB 5889, passed in 2019, that forced insurance companies to cover gender dysmorphia “treatment” for 13- to 17-year-olds that would include, for example, puberty blockers, also without parental consent. However, the previous law excluded gender “reassignment” surgery and other procedures like facial reconstruction since they were classified as cosmetic procedures.
SB 5889 refers to “protected individuals” as including a “minor who may obtain health care without the consent of a parent or legal guardian, pursuant to
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