A bill criminalizing gender-affirming healthcare for minors has passed the Idaho House, increasing the likelihood of heightened suicide rates among teenagers. The bill will subject physicians to felony charges if they provide puberty blockers, hormone treatment or gender-affirming surgeries to transgender youth under 18. This is just one of several targeting Idaho’s LGBTQ+ residents this year, supported by the Idaho Family Policy Center, a religious lobbying group that has also advocated for anti-abortion legislation. Many of these bills, including this one, mirror the language used in the “Don’t Say Gay” legislation proposed in over a dozen states last year.
Rep. Bruce Skaug, a Republican from Nampa, said the legislation was needed to “protect children” as puberty blockers and hormone treatment could cause permanent harm. But every major medical organization, including the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics and American Psychiatric Association, supports gender-affirming care for youth, and many have issued policy statements opposing legislative attempts to limit such care. Democratic Rep. Chris Mathias of Boise said transgender youth already self-harm and take their own lives at disturbingly high rates, and the bill would only exacerbate the problem.
The bill passed on a near party-line vote, with only one Republican voting no. A regional Planned Parenthood affiliate has said the gender-affirming care ban is “one of the most extreme attacks on transgender health care that we’ve seen across the U.S.”, as gender-affirming care is time-sensitive and life-saving. The bill now goes to the Senate, where a similar gender-affirming care ban died last year.
