Q: Does sb14 give police officers the authority to arrest someone committing an offense against this law?
Does sb14 give police officers the authority to arrest someone committing an offense against this law?
Can the female genital mutilation law from 1999 be used in conjunction with the new gender mutilation law, sb14? Also, I was told not a single DA would take a case with the charge from the 1999 law, why?? Also, the way sb14 is written when talking about the removal of healthy tissue, does this make circumcision now an offense under this new law? I was told that arrests don't happen under fee 1999 female gender mutilation law because of WPATH best practices guidelines, is this true and when did guidelines supercede state laws? Thank you for your time!
A:
Built into the 1999 law is the following defense:
"It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a) that:
(1) the person performing the act is a physician or other licensed health care professional and the act is within the scope of the person's license; and
(2) the act is performed for medical purposes."
The WPATH global standard of care is directly relevant to whether the act was performed for medical purposes.
SB-14 does not give police the authority to arrest anyone. It does give the Texas Medical Board the authority to not renew a physician's license if he/she violates its provisions and it does give the Texas Attorney General the authority to seek an injunction.
SB-14 does not make circumcision a crime unless it is "[f]or the purpose of transitioning a child's biological sex" as stated expressly in SB-14. Circumcision would not be performed as a standalone procedure for accomplishing that purpose.
Female genital mutilation remains a crime under the 1999 law when it is not performed for medical purposes (for example when it is performed to enhance male sexual pleasure or to control women's sexuality as opposed to being part of the medical standard of care for the treatment of gender dysphoria or gender identity disorder).
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