Today, the New Hampshire House said genital gender reassignment surgery has to wait until the patient is 18.
Unfortunately, Democrats supporting the amendment and bill came under heavy attack from their colleagues. I was sitting near the Speaker, waiting for my turn to speak, and the shouts from the anteroom were incredibly concerning. The aggressors were separated before it moved beyond words, thank goodness.
The amendment was supported by 21 Democrats and the amended bill by 12. Unfortunately, the harassment and bullying of these individuals continued throughout the day and has only intensified online. I am proud to stand with these brave representatives across the aisle.
The drumbeat of anti-science propaganda that seeks to silence any question of the supposed pro-trans narrative beats louder and louder, and it demonstrates the need for this bill.
If parents and kids get misleading information, there is no way for them to properly consider the risk and to truly understand the expectations for recovery from surgery and life in the years to come. To counter this false information, it is the role of the legislature to add a pause until the age of 18 for this procedure.
As it moves to the Senate, HB619 only prohibits genital gender reassignment surgery on minors. The definition section is lengthy in order to deal with the necessary specifics. Intersex people are born with anatomical or physiological abnormalities, and they aren’t impacted by this bill. The bill also makes exceptions for injury, malignancy, physical disease, and male circumcision. The bill language is available at NHWaitsUntil18.com/text if you want to dig deeper.
In the past, it was common for a person to go through a long and involved process, moving cautiously from one stage to the next and taking many years before reaching the point of undergoing this surgery. Unfortunately, this process is proceeding much more quickly now, and the requirement to undergo hormone suppression and live in the desired gender for a significant time is no longer required by the guidelines.
As a result, the process described during the debate isn’t the norm for kids.
Recent updates to the World Professional Association for Transgender Health have unfortunately laid waste to the cautious model of transgender care. In the past, these surgeries required therapy before puberty blockers, and that was before cross-sex hormonal treatment, which came before surgery — all after the age of 18 and with enough time to settle into each change. The current guidelines no longer require these commonsense protections.
Instead, medical societies are pushing beyond the limits of evidence. Activists are attempting to silence any dissent or questions about these surgeries. And the overwhelming message is that these surgeries in kids are lifesaving care — despite no evidence to support this claim. Now, there is no reasonable expectation of informed consent.
Is it any wonder that more than 20 states have passed laws protecting minors from this procedure?
When even asking a question is an act of defiance, it is the job of the legislature to tell the doctors licensed by virtue of our laws that they have to wait until a patient is 18 to offer this surgery.
To borrow a phrase, it is common sense scalpel control.
