A House bill in Idaho that would amend the state's criminal code to make gender-affirming procedures for minors a felony has cleared its last House committee hurdle and will be considered by the full House, The Hill reports.
According to the bill, healthcare providers found prescribing puberty blockers or hormones or performing gender-affirming surgeries on anyone younger than 19 years old could face life imprisonment.
The legislation was advanced at the end of last week by the Idaho House State Affairs Committee.
''Whoever knowingly engages in any of the following practices upon a child that circumcise, excise, infibulate, or mutilate the reproductive organs and parts of a child, for the purpose of attempting to change or affirm the child's perception of the child's sex … shall be guilty of a felony,'' a portion of the bill reads.
The Los Angles Blade reported that Republican state Rep. Bruce Skaug said in the State Affairs Committee meeting Friday that children with gender dysphoria should seek mental health services instead of irreversible medical treatments.
''This bill protects the harm that will be caused to our children if we allow this to go on,'' he told the Blade. ''If we do not allow minors to get a tattoo, drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes, sign a legal contract, why would we allow them to go through these physical mutilations because of their feelings at the time?''
Skaug introduced the bill last month, according to the news outlet.
According to The Hill, the legislation builds upon an Idaho law that bans ''female genital mutilation of a child,'' though that law was created to address harmful operations related to some cultural customs or rituals.
In recent months, gender-affirming procedures for transgender youth have come under heavy scrutiny, with other states, such as Alabama, seeking to make providing such services a felony, though Idaho's proposed legislation carries the harshest punishment.
Opponents of the Idaho bill testified to the adverse effects the legislation would have on the LGBTQ+ community.
''By voting yes on House Bill 675, you are voting to kill me and other kids just like me,'' said Eve Devitt, 16, the Blade reported.
The Trevor Project, the world's largest suicide prevention and mental health organization for LGBTQ+ youth, condemned the committee's passage of the bill.
''Amid a wave of dangerous bills targeting transgender youth, this bill is among the most dangerous — forcing doctors to choose between providing best-practice care to their patients and facing felony charges,'' said Sam Ames, director of advocacy and government affairs at The Trevor Project. ''This bill is at odds with the professional guidance of every major medical and mental health association in the country.''
Texas Children's Hospital, the largest pediatric hospital in the U.S., announced last week that it would no longer offer gender-affirming procedures following an order from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to investigate gender-affirming surgeries on minors as ''child abuse'' and an opinion by state Attorney General Ken Paxton.
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