On Wednesday, July 16, Puerto Rico’s governor, Jennifer González-Colón, signed a bill into law banning gender-affirming care for trans people under the age of 21. 

The ban includes prohibiting doctors from performing gender-affirming surgeries or prescribing hormone therapy. It also forbids public funds from being used for gender-affirming care for under-21s.

Medical practitioners who defy the ban will be fined up to $50,000 and may face imprisonment for up to 15 years. Practitioners can also have their medical licenses and permits revoked, according to CBS News.

This is one of the many bans on gender-affirming care for transgender youth within the United States and its territories. It is also the most restrictive, as legal adulthood on the island is 21 years of age. 

Many Puerto Rican associations had called for González-Colón to veto the bill as it went through the legislative process. Justin Jesús Santiago, the director of Puerto Rico’s Federación LGBTQ+, criticised the move and stated that the Federación would take legal action.

“Let there be no doubt: We will go to court to challenge the constitutionality of the governor’s cruel and inhumane signing of a law that criminalises health professionals for caring for trans minors,” Santiago said.

In a joint statement with GLAAD, both organisations pointed out that the new law in Puerto Rico goes against most major medical associations’ guidelines for gender-affirming healthcare. 

“With her actions, (Governor) González declares herself anti-equity governor in history,” Pedro Julio Serrano, the president of Federación LGBTQ+, said. 

Despite the backlash from queer and activist organisations, many conservative lawmakers within the territory have applauded González-Colón for signing the bill and restricting gender-affirming care. The Hill reported that Thomas Rivera Schatz, the bill’s author and president of Puerto Rico’s Senate, thanked González-Colón and the island’s legislature for passing the bill. 

Anti-trans sentiment in both the US and Puerto Rico has been on the rise. According to them, in 2021, a state of emergency was declared because of femicide of trans women within the island.

In the US, the Supreme Court ruled on June 18 to uphold a ban on trans healthcare in Tennessee, allowing states to pass bans on gender-affirming care for young trans people and criminalise medical providers who give those services. Similar bans have since been passed in 25 states in the US. 

Trans and queer activists in Puerto Rico blame the rise of anti-trans sentiment partly on the rise of the right wing in local politics, along with the white Evangelical influence from the US.