Idaho Republican Governor Brad Little signed a bill into law on Wednesday that prohibits taxpayer dollars from being used to pay for transgender surgeries and procedures.
The measure, which easily passed both the state House and Senate, prohibits Idaho public dollars from going toward transgender procedures and stipulates that those procedures cannot be done in a government owned building or properties. It passed the House by a vote of 58-11 and the Senate by a vote of 26-8.
“The proposed legislation ensures taxpayer dollars are not used to provide medical treatment or surgeries for the purpose of changing the appearance of a person’s sex in a way that is not consistent with their biological sex,” a statement of purpose on the legislation said. “These medical and surgical interventions can cause irreversible physical alterations; and some render the patient sterile or with lifelong sexual dysfunction, while others mutilate healthy body organs.”
Included in the law is a prohibition of using Idaho Medicaid funds for transgender procedures, as well as blocking doctors employed with the government from performing the procedures in the scope of their government work.
Little, whose signing of the measure was first reported by the Daily Caller, was widely expected to support the measure after it made its way through the legislature.
“If the government continues to send our tax dollars towards false answers to real questions, we do a terrible disservice to our citizens,” said Senator Ben Toews during debate on the bill.
The measure was opposed by Democrats and liberal groups like the ACLU, but backed by conservative organizations like the Alliance Defending Freedom.
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“There are only two sexes—male and female—and public funds shouldn’t be used to deny this basic truth,” said ADF Senior Counsel Matt Sharp in a statement praising Little’s decision. “Now and always, our loved ones deserve the loving embrace of family members who guide them toward this reality, along with access to safe and effective counseling. People should not be subjected to harmful—often irreversible—drugs and surgeries that block healthy development, alter hormonal balances, and remove healthy organs and body parts.”
“Idaho, through the leadership of sponsors Rep. Julianne Young, Rep. Bruce Skaug and Sen. Ben Toews and with the support of the Legislature and Gov. Little, now rightly joins a growing number of states that have enacted similar protections from these experimental procedures and bad science,” Sharp added.
While nearly two dozen states have banned transgender procedures on children, only around 10 have blocked state funds from being used to fund the procedures on others.