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Idaho Senate GOP kill bill banning trans medical care

Major medical groups, like the American Medical Association, generally oppose legislation that bans or criminalizes gender-affirming care

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Senate Republicans in Idaho Tuesday killed a bill that would have made gender-affirming care a felony, with those convicted having to serve up to a life sentence.Ā 

In a statement, Idaho Senate Republicans said they ā€œstonglyā€ oppose ā€œany and all gender reassignment and surgical manipulation of the natural sexā€ on minors. But they also wrote that the controversial legislation ā€œunderminesā€ a parentā€™s right to make medical decisions for their children.  

ā€œWe believe in parentsā€™ rights and that the best decisions regarding medical treatment options for children are made by parents, with the benefit of their physicianā€™s advice and expertise,ā€ the senators wrote. 

H.B. 675, which passed the Idaho House of Representatives by a nearly party-line vote of 55-13, would have made it a felony — punishable by up to life in prison — to provide minors with hormones, puberty blockers or gender-affirming surgery ā€“ though surgeries generally arenā€™t performed on Trans and nonbinary youth. It would build on an existing Idaho law, established in 2019, that banned ā€œfemale genital mutilation,ā€ targetting rituals in some faiths.

The legislation included some exceptions, including when a procedure is deemed ā€œnecessary to the health of the person on whom it is performed.ā€ There was also a carve-out for performing surgeries on intersex individuals, even as intersex people advocate to end such procedures on infants.

In their statement, the senators also said that the bill was ā€œcounterindicatedā€ by the Idaho Medical Association (IMA), which confirmed that gender-affirming surgeries on youth do not occur in Idaho. Major medical groups, like the American Medical Association, generally oppose legislation that bans or criminalizes gender-affirming care. 

The statement also cited the measureā€™s vague language, saying that its current form ā€œcould be interpreted to extend into the realm of medically necessary care for kids that is in no way related to transgender therapy.ā€ It added: ā€œThe bill worked to carve out this area of care, unfortunately it falls short by limiting it to verifiable genetic disorders.ā€

Republican Rep. Bruce Skaug, who sponsored the legislation, did not immediately return the Bladeā€™s request for comment.  

The bill was one of several efforts from GOP politicians to keep Trans and nonbinary youth from receiving gender-affirming care. 

In Texas, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott issued a directive that required the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to investigate gender-affirming care as ā€œchild abuse,ā€ while also mandating licensed professionals and general citizens report the procedures or face ā€œcriminal penalties.ā€ A spokesperson for the Texas DFPS confirmed to CNN last week that the state has opened nine alleged ā€œabuseā€ investigations of minors receiving gender-affirming care.

Meanwhile, Alabama lawmakers are considering a similar bill that would make it illegal to provide minors with gender-affirming puberty-blockers, hormones or surgeries. It cleared the Senate in a 24-6 vote and is set to be debated in the House this week.

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Idaho

Idaho bans gender-affirming care for transgender kids

Republican Gov. Brad Little signed bill on Tuesday

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(Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Republican Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed a bill Tuesday night that bans gender-affirming care for transgender youth and provides criminal penalties. House Bill 71 also stipulates that physicians who provide gender-affirming healthcare can face felony charges and upon conviction a potential prison sentence of up to 10 years.

The Associated Press reported that the law, which takes effect on Jan. 1, 2024, makes it a felony to provide hormones, puberty blockers or otherĀ gender-affirming careĀ to people under age 18.

Opponents of the legislation have warned it will likely increase suicide rates among teens, but proponents of the bill said it was necessary to ā€œprotect childrenā€ from medical or surgical treatments for gender dysphoria. Still, supporters have acknowledged there has been no indication that gender-affirming surgeries are being performed on trans youth in Idaho, the AP noted.

ā€œThis bill goes against decades of expert guidance on best-practice transgender medical care and allows the government to override personal medical decisions made between patients, their doctors, and their parents,ā€ said Kasey Suffredini, vice president of advocacy and government affairs at the Trevor Project.

ā€œThe Trevor Projectā€™s research found that 60 percent of trans and nonbinary youth in Idaho seriously considered suicide in the past year, and 27 percent made an attempt. Trans youth are not inherently prone to suicide risk, but rather placed at heightened risk because of how they are mistreated in society. Lawmakers should be prioritizing efforts to protect the health and well-being of Idahoā€™s young people ā€” not passing laws to isolate trans and nonbinary youth further. We will continue fighting back against these dangerous efforts, along with our partners and allies on the ground. For young people in Idaho ā€” or anywhere else ā€” who may be feeling scared or overwhelmed by this news, the Trevor Project has your back. Our counselors are here for you 24/7.ā€

KTVB reports:

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Idaho

Idaho police arrest armed extremists protesting Pride event

Panhandle Patriots Riding Club planned Coeur d’Alene protest

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A Self-described 'street preacher' who protested Pride is arrested by police in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. (Screenshot of Twitter video)

Heavily armed Coeur dā€™Alene police officers and Kootenai County Sheriff’s deputies in riot gear arrested half a dozen armed protestors, and a few self-labeled “street preachers” who were attempting to disrupt the ā€œPride in the Parkā€ in Coeur dā€™Alene City Park which returned after a two-year hiatus caused by the pandemic.

Creating concern for law enforcement and the Pride Alliance which sponsored the event was the counter-Pride rally held by the North Idaho motorcycle club, Panhandle Patriots Riding Club, which had announced the rally last month on the group’s Facebook page.

(Screenshot from Facebook)

Elenee Dao, a reporter from KXLY in Spokane, Wash., retweeted images of those detained by law enforcement from her colleague Aodhan Brown.

(Photo by Aodhan Brown/Twitter)

Freelance journalist Ford Fischer recorded some of the protestors as they moved through downtown Coeur dā€™Alene:

Media reports indicate 31 people were arrested in total.

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