Walz Didn’t Sign Bill Permitting ‘Gender Reassignment Surgery for Children’

After presidential hopeful (and current U.S. vice president) Kamala Harris picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be her running mate on Aug. 6, 2024, rumors began to circulate that he had signed a bill allowing gender-reassignment surgery for children:

The above post (archived) by conservative television and podcast host Megyn Kelly had been viewed 2.4 million times as of this writing, and had received 70,000 likes. People responded to the claim with outrage, warning that Walz would “destroy” the country: 

After examining the text of the law, and in light of current standards of gender-affirming care, however, we have rated the claim “False.” Here is what’s true:

First, on March 8, 2023, Walz signed an executive order protecting the right of gender-diverse adults and parents of gender-diverse children to seek and obtain gender-affirming medical care. The same order turned Minnesota into a sanctuary state for gender-diverse people from other states to seek and obtain gender-affirming medical care, shielding them from extradition or sanctions.

Second, in April 2023, Walz signed a bill into law that protected gender-diverse people, including children, who have obtained gender-affirming care in Minnesota from “out-of-state” interference, thereby enshrining Minnesota’s status as a sanctuary state for gender-diverse people seeking care. 

The same bill gave Minnesota courts “temporary emergency jurisdiction” if a child from another state seeking gender-affirming care had been unable to obtain it. Contrary to Kelly’s claim, however, which the Republican Donald Trump/J.D. Vance presidential ticket also helped spread, in such a situation the state, under this legislation, did not give itself the right to claim custody of the child. Instead, it claimed jurisdiction to rule in custody disputes. The legislation allowed a path to conflict resolution for parents and a child who disagree on whether the child should obtain care, Kat Rohn, executive director of LGBTQ+ advocacy organization OutFront, told The Washington Post. 

Based on Snopes’ reading, the legislation granted Minnesota courts jurisdiction over custody matters if the child was present in the state, including if the child had arrived in Minnesota for the purpose of seeking gender-affirming health care. The mechanism of “temporary emergency jurisdiction” already existed, but the new legislation amended it to include cases where the child had been unable to obtain gender-affirming care.

Neither the executive order nor the new law consecrated a right to “gender reassignment surgery for children,” however. Both texts emphasized access to gender-affirming health care. Further, a word search revealed no mention of “surgery” in either document. This made sense, as gender-affirming health care includes a large array of interventions. 

It was also consistent with the current standard of such care, which in childhood allowed for psychological and medical support for a social transition, such as adopting other names, choosing other pronouns, and being able to present oneself as part of one’s chosen gender. It may also allow for treatment that slows puberty, which is reversible. However, the same guidance recommends that irreversible procedures — notably, genital surgery — should be delayed until adulthood.