Idaho House OKS anti-trans bill

Measure outlaws providing gender-affirming children’s care

BOISE, Idaho — Idaho medical providers could soon be banned from offering gender-affirming care to transgender children, after the House on Tuesday cleared a bill that makes it a felony.

Sponsored by Republican state Rep. Bruce Skaug of Nampa and the Idaho Family Policy Center, a Christian lobbying group, the legislation would make it illegal for medical providers to offer puberty blockers, hormone therapies and transition-related surgeries to minors — treatment that transgender people, their family and friends told lawmakers can be life-saving.

Skaug told the House that surgeries, puberty blockers and hormone therapy make irreparable changes to a child’s development.

“This bill is about protecting children,” Skaug said Tuesday.

The House passed the bill nearly along party lines. Rep. Matt Bundy, a Mountain Home Republican, was the only member of his party to vote against the bill.

Rep. Lori Mccann, a Lewiston Republican, said she was conflicted about the proposal after speaking with several parents of transgender children. She said she supported banning transition-related surgeries before 18, but said the bill goes too far by banning other types of care.

“If they were not allowed to have the medications necessary to help them on their journey, it would be devastating for them,” Mccann said.

She ultimately voted in favor of the bill, now headed to the Senate.

House Democrats said transition-related surgeries are not the standard of care in Idaho, while therapy and puberty blockers help transgender children buy time to make a decision about their preferred gender and feel comfortable in their bodies. They also help prevent suicide, which is common among transgender children with gender dysphoria.

“This is complex,” said House Assistant Minority Leader Lauren Necochea, a Boise Democrat. “We need to trust parents and honor their rights to navigate this process and make these decisions for their kids. The parents of gender-diverse kids are loving parents.”

During a public hearing last week, Eve Devitt, a 17-year-old transgender girl, told a House committee that taking estrogen has improved her mental health and hormone therapy helped save her life.

“I’ve been able to get myself off a cliff that I wasn’t sure if I would ever find myself off of,” Devitt said. “I feel so much better and more complete with myself.”

Some parents of transgender children said gender-affirming care helped curb suicidal thoughts and actions. One parent said her transgender son, now 24, tried to take his own life five times starting at age 12 and sought gender-affirming care only after “extensive” therapy.