The Alaska State Medical Board has released a draft regulation that, for the first time, formally defines boys as male and girls as female based on their biological sex at birth, and prohibits doctors from providing medical interventions that attempt to alter that reality in patients under 18
The Board has released a draft regulation that would bar physicians from performing transgender medical interventions on anyone under the age of 18, formally classifying such procedures as “unprofessional conduct” that would be subject to disciplinary action.
The board also approved a short statement that says abortions performed just prior to delivery are typically unethical. Alaska law currently allows abortion up to the moment of birth.
“Alaska state law allows for elective late term abortions, up until the time of delivery,” the board’s statement reads. “The Alaska State Medical Board believes this is not ethical medical practice and does not embody the values of Alaskans. Many Alaskans and even physicians are unaware of this. We encourage Alaskans to engage with their representatives and to advocate for new legislation to bring state law into alignment with community values on this issue.”
The proposed rule relating to the chemical and surgical mutilation of children falls under the regulation 12 AAC 40.967 – Unprofessional Conduct, the section of state regulation that sets the standards for medical licensure in Alaska. The draft adds a new subsection, number 36, that specifically addresses medical treatments related to gender identity in minors.
The regulation states that “providing medical or surgical intervention to treat gender dysphoria or facilitate gender transition by altering sex characteristics inconsistent with the biological sex at birth” would constitute a violation. It lists as examples puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, mastectomy, phalloplasty, and genital modification procedures.
Two exceptions are included in the draft. Physicians would not be subject to discipline if providing treatment for congenital sex development disorders, sometimes referred to as intersex conditions, or if performing non-elective procedures required as a result of physical injury.
The board also introduces new definitions to clarify its intent. “Biological sex” is defined as “the male or female designation based on chromosomes, gonads, hormones, and genitals at birth, irrespective of psychological identity.” “Gender transition” is defined as “any process to align sex characteristics with a gender identity different from biological sex.”
By inserting the prohibition into the “unprofessional conduct” section, the medical board would gain authority to discipline licensees who engage in such practices, up to and including suspension or revocation of a medical license.
The draft rules are subject to the state’s regulatory process, which includes a public comment period before any final adoption. Once comments are received and reviewed, the board may make revisions before sending the regulation for final approval and implementation.
If adopted, the policy would put limits on what has become a profit center for some doctors — the gender mutilation of children and forcing them into a life of chemical dependency.
Earlier this year the medical board unanimously adopted a statement urging the Alaska Legislature to outlaw chemical castration and surgical gender transition treatments for minors, but the Alaska Legislature is controlled by Democrats and a few enabling Republicans who refused to act.
In June, the US Supreme Court sided with Tennessee’s law that bans medical treatments for minors whose parents are seeking gender transitions. The court said that such laws do not automatically violate the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause. The change to the regulation in Alaska would likely be challenged by the ACLU in state court, with pro-mutilation advocates claiming that such a prohibition violates the Alaska State Constitution’s privacy clause.
