AUSTIN, Texas — On Tuesday morning, the Texas Supreme Court will begin hearing arguments for and against Senate Bill 14 -- the law that banned gender transition among children.
The hearing will begin at 9 a.m. in Austin.
Editor's note: The video above originally aired in June 2023.
The law was enacted last year after being passed by Republican and Democrat lawmakers.
Texas Values, which supports the law, helped draft the bill and also testified at Texas House and Texas Senate hearings while the bill was being debated.
"SB 14 has always been about preventing radical, experimental kid-castrating procedures. These interventions are inconsistent with even the most basic standards of medical ethics and banning their use is a valid and legitimate exercise of legislative authority," Texas Values said in a release ahead of the hearing.
The law bans hormone therapies and puberty blockers from minors under the age of 18 and bans them from getting transition-related surgeries.
Lawmakers from both sides
Before it was enacted as a law, Republican representatives said the bill was about protecting Texas children.
"I think it’s important for us in the House to send a message to 30+ million Texans that we care about Texas children and we believe that these children deserve to get the care that they need ... mental health assistance," Rep. Tony Tinderholdt (R-District 94) said.
Some lawmakers on the other side of the vote said they were doing the same thing.
"We are the ones protecting children. It’s the state legislature that’s decided to try to hurt them," Rep. Julie Johnson (D-District 114) countered.
Democratic Rep. Shawn Thierry, who oversees Houston's District 146, issued a statement about her vote to approve SB 14, saying in part, "Democrats and Republicans alike, have routinely enacted legislation which shields children from acts which place them at an increased risk of harm. This principle is established in many areas of public health policy. This same logic must also apply when approaching the very complex issue of treating gender and body dysphoria in children."