Overview

• Senate Bill 350 outlaws puberty blockers, hormone therapies and gender-affirming surgeries for anyone under 21 and imposes penalties of up to 15 years in prison, $50,000 fines and the loss of medical licenses.
• The law bars the use of any public funds for gender-affirming care in Puerto Rico.
• Puerto Rico joins roughly two dozen U.S. states in restricting transgender healthcare and becomes the first territory to extend a ban to young adults up to age 21.
• Professional bodies such as the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Puerto Rico and the Psychological Association had urged Gov. González-Colón to veto the measure on medical and ethical grounds.
• The Puerto Rico LGBTQ+ Federation and allied groups have vowed to challenge the ban’s constitutionality in court.