The New Hampshire House voted to restrict the forms of medical intervention offered to minors who identify as transgender.
The bill underscores concern about the long-term physical and mental health outcomes for minors. The policy passed following a 199-175 vote after 12 Democrats joined the majority of the chamber’s Republicans to pass the bill. Two Republicans joined Democrats to oppose the policy, according to The Hill.
House Bill 619 would ban healthcare professionals and doctors from performing any form of “genitalia gender reassignment surgery” on anyone under the age of 18. Additionally, healthcare workers are prohibited from referring minors to out-of-state facilities that offer the procedures.
“Multivariate analyses of published studies between 2015 and 2022 showed no decrease in suicidality after gender affirming surgery, with some studies showing a significant increase in psychiatric hospitalizations and suicide after surgical transition,” states the bill.
“There is a lack of high quality clinical trials which provide data on outcomes for adolescent genital gender reassignment surgeries or young adult genital gender reassignment surgeries, particularly after pubertal suppression and cross sex hormones,” the policy continues. “Adolescent genital gender reassignment surgery generally lacks both adequate information for informed consent and involves a high risk of coercion for parental consent when parents believe that they are faced with a choice between their child committing suicide or consenting to their child’s genital gender reassignment surgeries.”
Parents of minors who are treated in violation of the law would be permitted to sue for damages and injunctive relief against anyone who performs the surgeries as well as anyone who “has aided or abetted the same.”
“An individual under 18 years of age may bring an action during their minority through a parent or next friend, and may bring an action in their own name upon reaching majority at any time from that point until 20 years after reaching the age of majority,” adds the policy.
HB 619 will now advance to the state Senate. If passed by that chamber, it will be sent to the desk of Governor Chris Sununu for his signature.
Republicans in the state house argued during debates that the law protects minors in the absence of an established understanding of the impact of the treatments.
“Until 16 months ago, these procedures were prohibited by (medical) guidelines,” said Representative Eric Layon, referring to guidelines released in September 2022 by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, per The New Hampshire Bulletin. Layon is co-sponsoring the bill.
“We need to wait,” she said. “We need to pause.”
State Representative Gerri Cannon, who identifies as a Democrat and transgender, denounced the proposed law.
“This is not about surgery but about why we are considering putting medical processes into New Hampshire law that is constantly changing," said Cannon, per WGME. “[Medical providers] are constantly learning new ways to care for patients and new techniques.”
