A bill criminalizing gender-affirming care for transgender youth has been returned to the Idaho House of Representatives and must be passed again before it reaches Governor Brad Little’s desk.
On Monday, the Idaho Senate voted 22-12 to pass the amendment. House Bill 71 All seven Democrats and four Republicans voted against.
The bill would create a “vulnerable child protection law” by its sponsors, banning gender-affirming care for transgender youth, such as puberty blockers, hormones, and surgery. Helping to seek treatment becomes a felony for any practitioner.
The bill will be sent to the House again after it has been voted on. Senate Judiciary Rules Committee Passes Additional Amendments.
The House passed the bill earlier All 11 Democrats voted against, 58 to 12. Mountain Home Rep. Matthew Bundy was the only Republican in the House to vote against the bill.
During the Senate debate, Sen. Chris Trakell, R-Caldwell, spoke in favor of the bill. He said the desire to seek puberty blockers is a mental health issue and worries about the irreversibility of those drugs.
“We often hear you say, ‘if you knew transgender people,'” he said. “As someone with mental health issues, I’m so glad society didn’t tell me, ‘Yes, your mental health issues are right.'”
Opponents of bill talk about mental health impact, force families out of Idaho
Democratic Boise Senator Melissa Wintrow said House Bill 71 was “the most difficult piece of legislation” she had seen on the Senate floor. If passed, the bill would harm the mental health of transgender youth, she said.
“I’ve heard a lot of debate about irreversibility,” she said during the debate. I do what I have to do.”
Wintrow said he has spoken to several doctors in the state and said the law would force doctors to move out of state for fear of helping patients.
Twin Falls Republican Senator Linda Wright Hartgen said during the debate that she has spoken to many voters who have transgender children. She said one couple is currently serving in the military and wants to help their child find gender-affirming care.
“They are sent out to go out and fight for our country and fight for freedom in other countries, yet they are still fighting the Idaho legislature to find medical care for their children. I have to,” she said.
Senator James Lucci, a Democrat from Pocatello, opposed the bill, comparing it to historic policies that discriminate against minorities such as the Japanese American, Native American, and Chinese American communities.
“We’re moving families out of Idaho because I don’t think they have the medical or social support to support their families here,” he said. We could miss something important, something good for Idaho.”
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