Hannah Schoenbaum.

Utah Republicans passed a ban on gender-affirming health care for transgender youth in 2023 and argued it was needed to protect vulnerable kids from treatments that could cause long-term harm. The newly released results of a study commissioned under that very law tell a different story. The Republican-controlled Legislature is facing pressure to reconsider the restrictions. Utah health experts concluded from a study of thousands of transgender people that gender-affirming care generated “positive mental health and psychosocial functioning outcomes.” Some state Republicans said they were open to considering the findings, while others were quick to dismiss the new report.