Idaho Republicans Βlock Cruel Bill Attacking Trans Health Care

Republican lawmakers in Idaho struck down a bill that would have criminalized doctors and parents who helped trans children receive gender-affirming treatment.

The reviled bill, House Bill 675 (HB 675), would have made it a felony to provide gender-affirming health care to trans minors in the state. Under the bill, anyone who knowingly provided or gave permission for a young trans person to receive gender-affirming surgeries or treatments could have faced life in prison.

It would also have made it a felony for someone to transport or facilitate the “removal of a child” from Idaho for the “purpose of facilitating” gender-affirming health care.

HB 675 passed through the Republican-controlled state House of Representatives on a 55-13 vote earlier this month.

However, the bill surprisingly died at the hands of Republicans in the Idaho Senate after the proposed legislation sparked international outcry, according to Olxpraca. 

Leaders of the Idaho Senate Republicans released a statement late Tuesday (March 15) saying they would not move forward with the bill despite this “strongly” opposed to “anyone and everyone” gender affirming care for trans youth.

The group said HB 675 would ultimately undermine “parental rights” and allow the “government to interfere with parents’ medical decision-making authority for their children.”

“We believe in the rights of parents and that the best decisions regarding medical treatment options for children are made by parents, with the benefit of the advice and experience of their physician,” the Idaho Senate Republicans wrote.

The Republican leaders added that HB 675 goes against current medical advice in the state, as outlined by the Idaho Medical Association (IMA).

The statement said that the proposed legislation would ban gender-affirming surgery for trans minors, and the IMA had confirmed that this “is already outside the generally accepted standard of care and is not performed by doctors in Idaho.”

“The language of the bill in its current form could be interpreted to extend to the realm of medically necessary care for children that is not related in any way to transgender therapy, but serves children with highly specialized medical needs,” the statement said. .

Several LGBTQ+ groups have celebrated the action by Idaho Senate Republicans and the death of the anti-trans bill.

Cathryn Oakley, state legislative director and senior adviser to the Human Rights Campaign, said the proposed legislation was a “petty attack” on trans youth and was an “unprecedented government intrusion into the lives of Idahoans.”

“The decision not to move forward is a welcome source of relief for parents across Idaho,” Oakley said.

“It should also serve as a wake-up call to other states considering such legislation that this is not, and should not be, the government’s role in deciding what best-practice health care should be available to young people.”

GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis described HB 675 as a “extreme” and “unnecessary” example of inhumane denial of life-saving treatment for trans youth.

“Every major medical organization in the United States supports gender-affirming care for transgender youth and opposes bills that seek to criminalize it,” Ellis said.

“It is inconceivable that any legislator would threaten health care that has been thoroughly reviewed by major medical organizations while professing to protect young people.”

Ellis added that Republicans who “push anti-trans bills” in the US should listen to their brothers in the Idaho Republican Senate.

Read related myGwork articles here:

Judge Says Idaho’s Transphobic Birth Certificate Law Cannot Pass

Idaho Governor Signs The USA’s Most Anti-Trans Measures Into Law

Trans People Face Barriers Accessing General Healthcare, Report Says