Idaho House passes bill criminalizing gender transition treatment of children

BOISE — On a near-party-line vote, the Idaho House on Tuesday passed HB 675, Nampa Rep. Bruce Skaug’s bill to make it a felony to provide gender care to transgender youth, including hormones, after a searing debate that touched on life and death, rights, God and more; there were tears shed.

In the end, the only Republican to vote against the bill was the House’s only physician, Dr. Fred Wood, R-Burley, who joined all 12 House Democrats in the 55-13 vote. Two Republicans missed the vote. The bill now moves to the Senate.

Skaug told the House, “We need to stop sterilizing and mutilating children under the age of 18.” He said his bill would protect “boys and girls who have their genitals mutilated by chemicals or surgery for purposes of changing their birth sex.”

Though mainstream medicine in the United States holds otherwise, he maintained that transgender children “if allowed to go through puberty, outgrow their problem and accept their bodies over time.”

Lawmakers with transgender relatives or friends sharply disagreed. Rep. Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, remembered asking a friend if she was “really, really sure” about allowing her teenager to begin gender transition hormones, only to learn, “This is obviously not a step that a family takes lightly. This is a step that comes after literally thousands of hours of agonizing.”

“This is the heaviest imaginable hand of government overriding family decisions on the most critical and frankly, in many cases, life-threatening questions,” Rubel told the House.

By forcing people to wait until after puberty to begin a transition, she said, in many cases the transition becomes much more difficult because gender characteristics become so much more pronounced, including things like stature. “You are really messing with their lives until their dying day,” she said.

The bill would make it a felony, punishable by life in prison, not only to provide the treatment in question, but to provide permission for a minor to receive it, or to permit a minor to travel out of state to receive it.

“This bill represents a fundamental misunderstanding of trans people,” said Rep. John McCrostie, D-Garden City.

“I’m grateful that I had parents who loved me for who I was and embraced me,” said McCrostie, who is the Legislature’s only openly gay member. He recalled hearing parents of trans kids talk about “how their vision for their child had changed, but they wanted to do what was best for them. And they knew how challenging this was. ... I applaud those parents and their courage, as well as the young people who have let their parents know, ‘I think I’m a little different.’ ”

Rep. Ned Burns, D-Bellevue, shared the story of a cousin who struggled and survived repeated suicide attempts, before finally finding peace after transitioning as an adult. “This bill passing will show that this body is against life, unless this body defines how it will be lived,” Burns said, and that it will lead to “the needless death of more trans individuals.”

“The language of this bill is so inconsistent with modern medical care, we are going to make the doctors and the nurses and the parents who are desperate to keep their children alive, we are going to make them felons,” he said. “Think about that for a second. ... We consider ourselves the ultimate experts on all things, but our track record on being correct is not great.”

Rep. Julianne Young, R-Blackfoot, said, “I see this conversation as an extension of the pro-life argument. ... We are not talking about the life of the child, but we are talking about the potential to give life to another generation. So in that sense, there is a nexus on this issue. I don’t see it as a contradiction.”

Rep. Brent Crane, R-Nampa, said, “We did hear testimony in committee from a lot of kids that are struggling with their gender identity. However, it will be the state of Idaho’s policy, you’re not going to make any of those decisions in those tumultuous teenage years. Instead you will make any of those decisions once you reach adult.”

Rep. Lauren Necochea, D-Boise, her voice breaking, said, “Our transgender youth are so incredibly courageous, and I know how stressful it has been for transgender youth and their families as they’ve watched this bill move through this body. ... And I hope those children know they are perfect and loved just the way they are, trying to live their truth.”

Fighting tears, Necochea said, “An Idaho doctor has had to assist three transgender youth related to their suicide attempts since this bill has been introduced.” She said, “We need to trust those parents and providers to make these deeply personal decisions.”

Rep. Ben Adams, R-Nampa, said he had a cousin who had gender surgery after turning 18. “But she did not become a man,” he said. “Because she didn’t have a physical health problem, she had a mental health problem.” He quoted from the Bible, saying, “ ‘I will praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.’ There are so many people in this world who need to hear that ... fearfully and wonderfully made. No accidents, no mistakes.”

Rep. Marco Erickson, R-Idaho Falls, said, “We’re making a decision on medical practices, and we’re also talking about freedom of parents to make decisions. Well, I can tell you, I’ve served lots of parents who have made really bad decisions on behalf of their kids and have led them astray. ... Parents don’t always make the perfect decisions on behalf of their kids.”

Skaug, in his closing debate, said, “The ability to procreate is a fundamental right that must be protected for these children. Leave their bodies alone. Don’t let our children be sterilized.”

To become law, HB 675 would need to clear a Senate committee, pass the full Senate, and receive the governor’s signature.

Russell is the Boise bureau chief and state capitol reporter for the Idaho Press and Adams Publishing Group. Follow her on Twitter at @BetsyZRussell.