Indiana, Idaho governors sign bans on gender-affirming care

[dennis]

Republican governors in Indiana and Idaho have signed into law bills
banning gender-affirming care for minors, making those states the latest
to restrict transgender health care as Republican-led legislatures
continue to curb LGBTQ+ rights this year.

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb signed legislation Wednesday that will prohibit
transgender youth from accessing medication or surgeries that aid in
transition, and mandating those currently taking medication to stop by the
end of the year.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed legislation Tuesday evening that
criminalizes gender-affirming care for youth.

More than a dozen other states are considering bills that would prohibit
transgender youth from accessing hormone therapies, puberty blockers and
transition surgeries, even after the approval of parents and the advice of
doctors. Other proposals target transgender individuals' everyday life —
including sports, workplaces and schools.

"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 about the Indiana bill.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed a lawsuit rapidly
after Holcomb signed the Indiana legislation — something the group had
promised to do after Republican supermajorities advanced the ban this
session. The American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho announced Wednesday
it also planned to sue over that state's new law.

The Indiana ACLU filed the lawsuit on behalf of four transgender youth and
an Indiana doctor who provides transgender medical treatment. It argues
the ban violates the U.S. Constitution's equal protection guarantees as
well as federal laws regarding essential medical services.

"The legislature did not ban the various treatments that are outlined,"
said Ken Falk, the ACLU of Indiana legal director. "It only banned it for
transgender persons."

Under the Indiana law that takes effect July 1, doctors who offer gender-
affirming care to minors would be disciplined by a licensing board. And
under the Idaho law set to go into effect next January, providing
hormones, puberty blockers or other gender-affirming care to people under
age 18 would be a felony crime.

"In signing this bill, I recognize our society plays a role in protecting
minors from surgeries or treatments that can irreversibly damage their
healthy bodies," Little wrote. "However, as policymakers we should take
great caution whenever we consider allowing the government to interfere
with loving parents and their decisions about what is best for their
children."

Supporters of the legislation have contended the banned care is
irreversible or carries side effects. They argue that only an adult — and
not a minor's parent — can consent to the treatments.

But opponents say such care is vital and often life-saving for trans kids,
and medical providers say most of the procedures are reversible and safe.
Transgender medical treatments for children and teens have also been
available in the U.S. for more than a decade and are endorsed by major
medical associations.

"When I started hormone therapy, it made me feel so much better about
myself," said Jessica Wayner, 16, at an Indiana House public health
committee hearing last month.

At least 13 states have laws banning gender-affirming care for minors:
Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky,
Mississippi, Tennessee, Utah, South Dakota and West Virginia. Federal
judges have blocked enforcement of Alabama and Arkansas' laws.

The GOP-led Kansas Legislature on Wednesday also overrode Democratic Gov.
Laura Kelly's veto of a bill to ban transgender athletes from girls' and
women's sports from kindergarten through college.

Nineteen other states have imposed restrictions on transgender athletes,
most recently Wyoming.

The Arkansas Senate also sent a bill Wednesday to Republican Gov. Sarah
Huckabee Sanders that would not allow schools to mandate its employees
call transgender students by their preferred name or pronouns.

In some states where Democrats control the legislature, lawmakers are
enshrining access to gender-affirming health care. Democratic New Mexico
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a bill Wednesday that protects
providers of gender-affirming health care against potential civil and
criminal prosecution.

Dr. Molly McClain, who provides gender-affirming health care to patients
of all ages, said the new legislation sends a message to people exploring
their identity in ways that may not conform to gender norms.

"It says you are seen, you are safe, you are precious, and your access to
health care will be protected here," said McClain, who teaches medicine at
the University of New Mexico. "I think that that sends a huge message to
trainees" in the medical field.

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