31-7-3.5. Treatment of minors for gender dysphoria; penalty for violations.

Code 1981, § 31-7-3.5, enacted by Ga. L. 2023, p. 6, § 2/SB 140, effective July 1, 2023.

This Code section became effective July 1, 2023.

Ga. L. 2023, p. 6, § 1/SB 140, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “The General Assembly finds that: “(1) There has been a massive unexplained rise in diagnoses of gender dysphoria among children over the past ten years, with most of those experiencing this phenomenon being girls; “(2) Gender dysphoria is often comorbid with other mental health and developmental conditions, including autism spectrum disorder; “(3) A significant portion of children with gender dysphoria do not persist in their gender dysphoric conditions past early adulthood; “(4) Certain medical treatments for gender dysphoria, including hormone replacement therapies and surgeries, have permanent and irreversible effects on children; “(5) No large-scale studies have tracked people who received gender-related medical care as children to determine how many remained satisfied with their treatment as they aged and how many eventually regretted transitioning; on the contrary, the General Assembly is aware of statistics showing a rising number of such individuals who, as adults, have regretted undergoing such treatment and the permanent physical harm it caused; “(6) Under the principle of ‘do no harm,’ taking a wait-and-see approach to minors with gender dysphoria, providing counseling, and allowing the child time to mature and develop his or her own identity is preferable to causing the child permanent physical damage; and “(7) The General Assembly has an obligation to protect children, whose brains and executive functioning are still developing, from undergoing unnecessary and irreversible medical treatment.”

Specific review considerations for short-stay general hospital beds, Official Compilation of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Rules of Department of Community Health, Health Planning, Certificate of Need, Rule 111-2-2-.20. General licensing and enforcement requirements, Official Compilation of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Rules of Department of Community Health, Health Facility Regulation, Rule 111-8-25-.01 et seq. Unprofessional Conduct Defined, Official Compilation of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Rules of Georgia Composite Medical Board, Investigations and Discipline, Rule 360-3-.02.

For comment, “Beyond Politics: Rethinking the Conversation on Gender-Affirming Care for Youth,” see 76 Mercer L. Rev. 811 (2025).