Oklahoma governor urges action on anti-transgender medicine

By SEAN MURPHY
Associated Press Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has signed a bill prohibiting federal funding for transgender medical treatment for young people and urged the Legislature to adopt a statewide ban when it returns next year. The first-term Republican is up for reelection next month and signed the bill Tuesday. It authorizes more than $108 million in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act for health services at the University of Oklahoma Medical Center. Oklahoma’s Republican-controlled Legislature passed several bills this year targeting transgender youth. They include measures that restrict transgender girls’ participation in sports and require schoolchildren to use bathrooms that correspond with their assigned sex at birth.