Idaho bill would make medical treatment for trans youth punishable by life in prison | TheHill
Idaho s state House of Representatives has approved the most far-reaching bill yet to criminalize medical treatments for transgender youth, a measure that threatens anyone who facilitates that treatment or even helps a minor travel to another state to receive gender-affirming care to be sentenced to life in prison.
The measure, approved Tuesday on a mostly party-line vote, adds medical care for transgender youth to a section of Idaho law already on the books that bans female genital mutilation.
It adds language making it a felony either to perform gender-affirming surgery on transgender youth or to provide medication meant to block or delay the onset of puberty.
The existing law already makes a felony of anyone who takes a child from Idaho to another state for the purpose of female genital mutilation; the new language would add transporting someone across state lines for gender-affirming medical care to the felony list.
Similarly, the new language would make either providing gender-affirming medical care or transporting a child to another state to receive that care a felony punishable by up to life in prison.
This bill is about protecting children, which is a legitimate state interest. We do that all of the time, the bill s lead sponsor, state Rep. Bruce Skaug (R), said on the House floor. We need to stop sterilizing and mutilating children under the age of 18. This bill is not about the adults or adult trans community at all. It is about children.
via thehill.com
I suppose you could wait until you’re 18, but by then you might not want to be transgender anymore.