State Rep. Suzie Pollock of Missouri’s 123rd district has just introduced H.B. 2649, the Missouri Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act, to protect minors from harmful physiological gender transition procedures. Missouri is the fifth state to introduce a SAFE Act this year.

Pollock joined “Washington Watch” to discuss the purpose of the bill. “It makes it illegal to practice giving children cross-sex hormones, puberty blockers, or any kind of surgery” that alter their young bodies for life, she noted. “I really want to get that in law and protect children because who knows where things can progress to and what they’ll be trying next?”

This legislation comes at a time when our nation’s youth are increasingly being taught to embrace radical gender identity ideology. Those who suffer distress due to an incongruence of their biological sex and their perceived gender are told that what they need are puberty-blocking drugs, cross-sex hormones, and sometimes even surgery in order to achieve a superficial appearance of their desired sex. These procedures result in irreversible harm (which can include permanent sterility, among other things) and have not been shown to reduce suicidal ideation in the long run. This has compelled legislators in states like Missouri to seek a legislative solution.

Last year, a total of 21 states introduced bills prohibiting gender transition procedures on minors. Arkansas became the first to enact such a bill into law, successfully passing the SAFE Act through the legislature and overriding Gov. Hutchinson’s veto by wide margins. This year, 17 states have already introduced similar legislation, including several bills mirroring the Arkansas SAFE Act. 2022 is already shaping up to be a stand-out year for this type of legislation, as many of the bills introduced have stronger protections for minors than have been seen in previous bills.

Representative Pollock has introduced the strongest bill of its kind. The Missouri SAFE Act is designed to prevent minors from being subjected to life-altering gender transition procedures before they even reach the age of consent. This bill includes several key provisions, including the aforementioned prohibition on puberty-blocking drugs, cross-sex hormones, and gender reassignment surgeries for minors. It defines crucial terms like “sex” and “gender,” differentiating one’s biological sex with one’s psychological, self-perceived gender. It prohibits the public funding, insurance coverage, and referral of such procedures. It includes exceptions for those diagnosed with a physiological “intersex” disorder to receive medically necessary treatments and surgeries. Lastly, it includes a professional penalty for noncompliance (i.e., revocation or suspension of licensure) and creates a cause of action for an individual harmed by a violation to receive damages. These key provisions work to ensure the safety of minors by preventing them from undergoing life-changing procedures that they will likely come to regret.

When asked what constituents can do to support the legislation, Pollock urged Missouri residents to contact their state senators and representatives. “The faster we move, the better,” she said. “And let’s protect kids in Missouri.”

With the introduction of H.B. 2649, Missouri legislators are stepping up to protect minors from this growing threat, and they are not alone. 2022 has already seen the strongest bills to be introduced on this topic, and legislators across the states are not done yet.

Here’s hoping and praying that 2022 sees more states following in Arkansas’ footsteps and enacting strong legislation to protect minors.

HD Editor’s Note: Why Is This News Biblically Relevant?

Franklin Graham in a interview with Tony Perkins discussed the legislation passed in Arkansas to protect children from dangerous gender mutilating surgeries.

“God made us male and female; two men can’t make a child, two women can’t make a child; it takes a male and a female. That’s the way God made us and created us,” Rev. Graham asserted. “For someone to come along and say you can change that if you want… Well, you better talk to God about that because we’re on very thin ice when we start messing with the way God made us and created us.”

“You know,” he continued. “We’re all going to get attacked no matter what we do if we stand for God’s Word. If we stand for truth, we will be attacked.”

But the evangelist urges, “We’ve got to have thick skin.”

The problem we are seeing today, Franklin Graham explains, is that as we see a rising moral bankruptcy in America, we are also seeing silent pulpits and people sitting on their hands instead of speaking the truth.

“It’s frightening to see what’s happening,” he said. “You talk about pray, vote, and stand, and this is the time for the church to stand. We need to stand for truth, we need to stand for God’s Word, and we need to stand behind these legislators and the governors, and others that are willing to sign bills.”

“This is a time to stand and let your voice be heard now. Don’t just stand and be quiet. It’s time for the pastors to preach it from the pulpits and, I think, for denominations to stand,” he said. “Think about the evangelical denominations out there. They need to let their voices be heard as loud or louder than what we hear on the left.”

“If we don’t, Tony, we’re going to lose,” Graham cautions. “The worst thing that could happen is for the Lord Jesus Christ to come back and find us sitting on our hands and keeping our mouths shut. When He comes back, I hope he finds us fighting and standing for truth.When I say fighting, I’m not talking about taking a baseball bat out there and hitting somebody. I’m talking about standing up against this onslaught, this tsunami, this tidal wave of evil that is coming down on society today. I would encourage the church and pastors to speak out. This is the time for us to stand together and be one voice.”

“This is spiritual warfare, and this is the time for the church to stand up. You don’t go back into the barracks when the warfare is raging, and it is raging now more than I have seen in my lifetime,” Perkins stated. “If we won’t stand up and speak out, and as you say, fight spiritually on issues such as this, what will we fight for?”

Ken Ham, in his article, “Feelings Do Not Determine Truth: ‘Modern Science’ Says There Are Six Sexes?” explained that what those struggling with gender confusion need is the truth which is confirmed by science and God’s Word.

“There are two: male and female. The ‘gender identities’ so popular today are not biological sexes—they are determined by the feelings of the person claiming the gender identity,” Ken Ham explained. “But feelings do not determine truth. Instead of relying on our feelings, we must turn to the Word of God for absolute truth and, by the power of God’s spirit and the gospel, line our feelings up with God’s Word and truth. And besides, because we are sinners (Romans 3:23) and our hearts are ‘deceitful above all things and desperately wicked’ (Jeremiah 17:9), we can’t trust our feelings!”

“Such individuals need compassion and kindness—and they need the truth that comes from God’s Word and is confirmed by observational science,” Ham urged. “There are only two genders/sexes in humans: male and female (Genesis 1:27). That’s how God has made us, and trying to change one’s gender is ultimately a sinful rejection of God’s design. Those who struggle with gender dysphoria need Gospel truth. They need to know that their identity need not be rooted in themselves and their feelings but rather in Christ, his death, and resurrection for them, and his design for them and their body.”

“Those who struggle with gender dysphoria don’t need chemicals, body mutilating surgery, cross-dressing clothes, new pronouns, and a new name—they need the Gospel message that changes hearts and lives for eternity and gives them a new identity rooted in Christ,” he concluded.

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