Proposition 135 would prohibit surgery on a minor for the purpose of altering the minor’s biological sex characteristics. Medical decisions should NOT be dictated by the state. Instead, they should be based upon individual needs and conversations between patients, parents, and their doctors.

 

This measure would restrict parents’ access to age-appropriate, gender-affirming healthcare for their own children, giving the government more power over what care is available than parents and doctors.
 

Its language is vague and reaches further than it lets on, potentially removing access to even mental health support, not just the specific procedures it names. The measure’s list of affected providers includes mental health providers, pharmacists, dentists, and acupuncturists. 
 

The vague language could also lead to unintended consequences for young people, like keeping minors from receiving life-saving treatment for cervical or testicular cancers. 
 

Nadine Bridges, executive director of One Colorado, said, “These proposals go too far. They push the government into personal health care decisions that should stay with families and medical providers. That kind of political intrusion does not make families safer or stronger.”