West Virginia has a highly restrictive legislative landscape for transgender individuals. Multiple anti-trans bills have been introduced and enacted from 2023 to 2025, targeting healthcare, education, birth certificates, pronouns, and more.
2023:
- Senate Bill 686 (Youth Mental Health Protection Act): Banned certain medical practices for minors' gender dysphoria
- Healthcare Bans: Prohibited gender reassignment surgeries, hormone therapies, and gender-affirming care for minors at public universities and via Medicaid/CHIP
- Birth Certificates: Required birth certificates to list sex at birth as male/female, banning "non-binary"
- Pronoun Protections: Protected teachers from using pronouns inconsistent with biological sex
- Drag Shows: Banned drag shows for minors in schools/libraries
- Near-Total Medication Ban: Passed with narrow exceptions for severe cases
2024:
- Senate Bill 194: Extended gender-affirming care ban to under 21, prohibited non-"cure"-oriented dysphoria treatment (criticized as conversion therapy)
- Senate Bills 195/197: Classified transgender people as "obscene matter" near schools, increasing penalties
- Foster/Adopt Eligibility: Bills barred foster/adopt eligibility requirements affirming gender identity if conflicting with religious beliefs
2025:
- Full Ban on Gender-Affirming Care: Scrapped 2023 exceptions (e.g., for suicidal teens with professional/parental approval)
- Violations treated as unprofessional conduct, with AG enforcement
- Pronoun Restrictions: Prohibited preferred pronoun use by school employees
- DEI Elimination: Eliminated DEI programs/policies in schools and state agencies
- "West Virginia Women's Bill of Rights": Replaced "gender" with "sex" in state law
- Foster/Adoption Restrictions: Prohibited requirements affirming gender identity against religious beliefs
2023: 15 bills tracked across healthcare, education, birth certificates, performance, other categories
2024: 35 bills tracked across 8 categories including birth certificates, healthcare, education, bathrooms, civil rights
2025: 35 bills tracked across 7 categories including pronouns, education, healthcare, adoption
2026: 19 bills tracked (ongoing)
- Court challenges over youth care bans and athlete restrictions
- Some bills faced lawsuits
| Name |
Party |
Chamber |
Key Actions |
| No specific politicians identified in search results for anti-trans bills |
|
|
|
| Date |
Event |
| 2023 |
15 anti-trans bills tracked; multiple healthcare/birth certificate laws enacted |
| 2024 |
35 anti-trans bills tracked; SB 194, 195, 197 enacted |
| 2025 |
35 anti-trans bills tracked; full gender-affirming care ban enacted |
| 2026 |
19 bills tracked (ongoing) |
- Trans Legislation Tracker 2023/WV
- JURIST - WV Legislator Introduces Bills
- WV Public - Legislators Pass Full Ban
- Trans Legislation Tracker 2024/WV
- Trans Legislation Tracker 2025/WV
- Trans Legislation Tracker 2026/WV
- WV Legislature - SB 686
Last updated: 2026-04-02