What is the REAP Act? New bill targets gender affirming care for trans kids in Mississippi
A partisan bill that will likely become law in Mississippi targets gender affirming health care for transgender children across the state.
House Bill 1125, proposed by 12 Republican lawmakers including Speaker of the House Philip Gunn, would create the “Regulate Experiment Adolescent Procedures Act.”
The bill passed in the House and Senate and expected to be signed into law by Gov. Tate Reeves, despite statewide opposition from health care providers, families of trans children and the LGBTQIA community.
The REAP Act would:
▪ Prohibit public funds to any person or business that provides gender transition procedures to a person under 18 years old
▪ Prohibit a state or locally owned health care facility from providing gender transition services to a person under 18
▪ Prohibit amounts paid to health care premiums for gender affirming health care from being deductible on state income taxes
▪ Prohibit Medicaid from reimbursing or providing coverage for certain gender affirming health care for a person under 18
▪ Amend the Mississippi Code of 1972 so health coverage plans are not required to include gender transition services for a person under 18
HB 1125 is a part of a broader push in Republican-controlled states targeting the LGBTQ+ community. Other states are also looking at restrictions on gender affirming care, while others are targeting trans athletes and drag shows.
Lawmakers who support the REAP Act include the Mississippi governor, who signed a law in 2021 that bans transgender athletes from competing in girls’ or women’s sports.
“Sterilizing and castrating children in the name of new gender ideology is wrong,” Reeves wrote on Twitter. “That plain truth is somehow controversial in today’s world.”
Rob Hill, director of the Mississippi sector of Human Rights Campaign, said Reeves’ comments are incorrect and attempt to “monsterize” the trans community.
“The governor is engaging in misinformation (online) regarding surgery,” Hill said. “He’s lying … and misleading these Mississippians.”
It is very rare for surgeries — such as the shaving of the Adam’s Apple or to align a patient’s chest or genetalia with their gender identity — to be performed on people under age 18 in the U.S., according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. The main forms of treatment in the gender affirming care continuum include counseling and medications like hormone replacement therapy.
Other opponents of the bill say the bill will be catastrophic for the health and well-being of LGBTQ+ children in Mississippi.
The bill also could harm children who suffer from medical conditions like gender dysphoria.
At a protest in Jackson earlier this month, Katie Rives told the Clarion-Ledger that her transgender son, Ray, was diagnosed with gender dysphoria and his treatment is medically necessary.
“Since Ray started with gender affirming care, he’s like a different person. He is bright, successful at school, supper funny, fun to be around, and just a great kid,” Rives told the Jackson-based newspaper. “This bill would change our lives because it would make it impossible to get the care that Ray needs, and we’re in the middle right now.”
Hill has heard from families in the state who are beginning to plan exit strategies if Reeves signs HB 1125 into law, as the closest place for children to receive gender affirming health care would be New Orleans.
“It’s a terrible mess,” Hill said.
