Legislation to limit gender-affirming care for trans youth reintroduced

(KPAX) HELENA — The sponsor of a bill to prohibit certain medical treatment for transgender youths – a bill defeated last month in the Montana House – introduced a new, similar measure Tuesday to ban “gender transition” surgical procedures for those under 18.

Rep. John Fuller, R-Whitefish, sponsored the original House Bill 113, which was voted down 51-49 on the House floor Jan. 26.

HB113 prohibited any medical treatment or surgery for minors to reassign gender.

Fuller’s new measure, House Bill 427, bans surgical gender-transition procedures for minors and prohibits the referral of minors to health-care providers for any such procedure.

The bill has not yet been assigned to committee for a hearing.

Fuller has said that children should not be allowed to undergo sex-change procedures that could affect them for a lifetime, and instead wait until they are adults.

Opponents have argued that the bills unduly insert the law into private medical decisions, better made by individuals and families – and denounced the effort to bring another ban forward, after one has been defeated.

“After seeing so many people come out against this harmful (first) bill, it’s really concerning to see some lawmakers try to sneak such a similar bill back into the mix,” said SJ Howell of Montana Women Vote. “Can’t lawmakers leave trans kids alone?”