GOP Senators End Effort to Criminalize Gender-Affirming Care in Idaho
easily passed the Republican-majority House, but Senate GOP leaders released a statement Tuesday saying while they continue to oppose “any and all gender reassignment and surgical manipulation of the natural sex of minors,” they decided to stop the measure from advancing because it amounts to government overreach and could affect care unrelated to gender transition.“We believe in parents’ rights and that the best decisions regarding medical treatment options for children are made by parents, with the benefit of their physician’s advice and expertise,” reads the statement from the Idaho State Senate Majority Caucus. “It is against medical advice in Idaho and is counterindicated by the Idaho Medical Association (IMA).
Among other provisions, HB 675 outlaws gender-affirming surgery for transgender minors; and the IMA has confirmed that this is “already outside the generally accepted standard of care and is not being done by physicians in Idaho.”Physicians usually do not recommend gender-affirming surgery for minors, but trans youth often are prescribed hormone treatment and puberty blockers, which would also be outlawed by the legislation.
It would additionally make it a felony to take a young person out of state to undergo a procedure banned by the measure.The bill would have “unintended consequences” as well, the statement says. “The bill’s language in its current form could be interpreted to extend into the realm of medically necessary care for kids that is in no way related to transgender therapy, but serves children with highly specialized medical needs,” it notes.
