A Utah law permanently banning hormonal transgender treatment for minors went into effect on May 6, 2026.
The measure, HB174, titled "Sex Characteristic Change Treatment Amendments" was passed by supermajorities in both the House and Senate and was signed into law by Governor Spencer Cox on March 18, 2026,
Building upon the efforts of SB16, "Transgender Medical Treatments and Procedures," HB174 amends the senate bill’s temporary restriction of hormonal treatments for minors into an outright, lasting ban. SB16 was signed into law Jan. 23, 2023 by the governor.
Bill sponsor Rep. Rex Shipp, R-Cedar City, said he believes minors with gender dysphoria should be given necessary care, but should not be allowed to start hormonal transgender treatment until they are adults.
“I think these minors need all the counseling and help they can get … until they become adults to make some of those types of decisions,” Shipp said.
Under HB174, health care providers who provide hormonal transgender treatments to minors are now subject to charges of unprofessional conduct and risk losing their medical license.
SB16, which called for a “systematic review of the medical evidence regarding hormonal transgender treatments,” commissioned an official review from Utah’s Department of Health and Human Services.
The DHHS then commissioned the University of Utah's Drug Regimen Review Center to work on an official review. The review centered on the safety and efficacy of hormonal transgender treatments in minors.
Hormonal transgender treatments, as defined in HB174, are cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers.
Cross-sex hormone treatment is defined as “administering, prescribing or supplying” hormones to a minor with the purpose of facilitating a sex change.
The University of Utah’s review concluded that hormonal transgender treatments for minors positively affect mental health, psychosocial outcomes and desired physical transition outcomes.
Soon after being published, the report prompted rebuttal from multiple organizations.
One of the responses came in the form of an executive summary from the Society for Evidence Based Gender Medicine. The society is an international advocacy organization that argues against pediatric gender transition without systematic reviews of evidence.
In the summary, the society argued that the university's review excluded key studies due to time restraints, overlooked “highly relevant evidence” and ignored “signals of harm.”
The society also argued that the “highly relevant evidence” included similar analyses and medical guidelines taken from Sweden, Finland and the U.K.
These analyses and medical guidelines argued the opposite of the university's report, stating that these hormonal treatments led to outcomes such as increased morbidity and mortality.
Ellie Menlove, director of policy for the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah, said that she believes decisions to start minors on hormonal transgender treatment should not rest in the hands of lawmakers.
"Healthcare decisions should be made by patients, parents or guardians and doctors, not politicians,” Menlove said. “Transgender and nonbinary people have always existed and been integral members of our communities. They have the right to live openly and freely, and to make their own medical decisions.”
With the signing of HB174 into law, health care providers are also required to aid in the gradual, supervised tapering off of hormonal treatment for minors.
The process of tapering off was required to finish on or before six months after May 6, 2026, the effective date of the law.
While the law puts a broad ban on continuing treatments for minors, there are two notable exceptions. These exceptions allow individuals to continue the treatment legally without gradual discontinuation.
Health care providers can provide hormonal transgender treatment to individuals who were 16 years old as of May 6, 2026 and have received treatment for at least two years, or to individuals who will be 18 years old on or before Nov. 6, 2026.