HINTON, WV (WOAY)- Senate bills 474 and 299 were both ceremoniously signed into WV state law in Hinton on Wednesday. These bills will end DEI programs and gender affirming care practices in West Virginia.
“DEI is dead in the Mountain State,” said Gov. Patrick Morrisey. Morrisey says that SB 474 is going to give everyone the opportunity to succeed and flourish.
“Well, I think it’s really important that we send a message that everyone is going to be treated the same under the eyes of god and the rule of law,” explained Gov. Morrisey. “We shouldn’t tolerate discrimination and treating one group with this massive advantage over another. And that’s what West Virginians believe.”
Senate bill 299 prohibits gender affirming care practices for anyone under the age of 18 in the state.
“Officially end the practice of child mutilation in the state of West Virginia,” said Gov. Morrisey.
SB 299’s purpose is to amend state law to prohibit medical professionals from providing gender reassignment surgery and prescribing gender altering medication to anyone below the age of 18.
“The original legislation on gender affirming care was designed for children, which were only a handful in West Virginia, but they had been determined to be severely mentally ill,” said Jack Woodrum, WV State Senator, 10th district. “And this was to use a classification of drugs that could be used in gender affirming care, but it was used to be used at a minimal dose not to transition anybody, but just to help deal with their brain chemistry. They had found that many of them had quit, their suicide attempts had stopped. [However] There’s been a couple more studies that have come out and shown that that there are other ways of treating this, that it’s not necessary and the two or better ways of going about it.”
Morrisey says these bills are steps to help lead with common sense.
