Idaho and Indiana became the latest Republican-led states to implement bans on sex-change-related treatment for minors.
On Tuesday night, Idaho Republican Governor Brad Little signed a bill that outlaws puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and transition-related surgeries for minors, according to Idaho News 6. Medical practitioners who knowingly violate the ban face the prospect of a felony, and if convicted, they could land in prison for up to 10 years.
In Indiana, Republican Governor Eric Holcomb signed similar legislation that goes into effect on July 1 and requires youths taking medication to transition to stop by the end of the year.
“Permanent gender-changing surgeries with lifelong impacts and medically prescribed preparation for such a transition should occur as an adult, not as a minor,” Holcomb said in a statement reported by the Associated Press.
Roughly a dozen states have now implemented laws or policies that crack down on sex-change-related treatment for minors with more on the way. For instance, Florida’s state Senate approved on Tuesday a ban on transgender surgeries for children.
Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed legislation last month that bans sex-change procedures on minors in his state. “We should not allow permanent, life altering decisions that hurt children,” he tweeted in October.
Such bans have prompted legal challenges and intense criticism. The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Indiana announced a lawsuit soon after Holcomb signed the legislation in his state. A similar suit is expected in Idaho.
Boise Mayor Lauren McLean, a Democrat, took aim at the bill just signed by Little.
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“My heart breaks today for every loving parent of a trans child, every doctor who strives to offer life-saving affirming care, and every child in our community targeted by H71,” McLean said on Twitter. “H71 is the heavy hand of the government coming between parents who deeply care and doctors trained to help, and it puts our most vulnerable kids at even greater risk.”
The Human Rights Campaign has a map on its website tracking the “Attacks on Gender Affirming Care by State.” The map shows court injunctions in Texas, Alabama, and Arkansas are temporarily blocking enforcement.
“In a coordinated push led by national anti-LGBTQ+ groups, legislators across the country have overridden the recommendations of the American medical establishment and introduced hundreds of bills that target transgender and non-binary youth’s access to age-appropriate, medically-necessary care,” the group says.
In a proclamation to recognize the “Transgender Day of Visibility” last week, President Joe Biden decried how a “wave of discriminatory State laws is targeting transgender youth, terrifying families and hurting kids who are not hurting anyone.”