Section 161.703 - Exceptions(a) Section 161.702 does not apply to the provision by a physician or health care provider, with the consent of the child's parent or legal guardian, of: (1) puberty suppression or blocking prescription drugs for the purpose of normalizing puberty for a minor experiencing precocious puberty; or (2) appropriate and medically necessary procedures or treatments to a child who: (A) is born with a medically verifiable genetic disorder of sex development, including: (i) 46,XX chromosomes with virilization; (ii) 46,XY chromosomes with undervirilization; or (iii) both ovarian and testicular tissue; or (B) does not have the normal sex chromosome structure for male or female as determined by a physician through genetic testing. (b) Section 161.702 does not apply to the provision of a prescription drug to a child that is otherwise prohibited by that section if: (1) the prescription drug is part of a continuing course of treatment that the child began before June 1, 2023; and (2) the child attended 12 or more sessions of mental health counseling or psychotherapy during a period of at least six months before the date the course of treatment described by Subdivision (1) began. (c) A child to whom the exception under Subsection (b) applies: (1) shall wean off the prescription drug over a period of time and in a manner that is safe and medically appropriate and that minimizes the risk of complications; and (2) may not switch to or begin a course of treatment on another prescription drug that a physician or health care provider is prohibited from providing to the child under Section 161.702 or otherwise receive a procedure or treatment prohibited by that section. Tex. Health and Safety Code § 161.703
Added by Acts 2023, Texas Acts of the 88th Leg.- Regular Session, ch. 335,Sec. 2, eff. 9/1/2023.