Republicans received the support they needed from fourteen Democratic politicians to advance a bill that would have prohibited gender-affirming health treatment for adolescents in New Hampshire.
In the New Hampshire House of Representatives, House Bill 619 was approved from 199 to 175 votes. If the bill is passed, it may make it illegal for doctors to perform “genital gender reassignment surgery,” which is defined as any medical procedure to help a person transition gender, on anyone under the age of 18 who resides in the state.
The bill received support from 184 Republicans, 14 Liberals, and one separate. Republicans in New Hampshire only have a three-vote advantage in the House, so they were forced to rely on Democratic votes to pass the legislation after 11 other Republicans abstained from voting or were excluded. The bill would have just failed if these Democrats had voted against it, 189 to 185.
The House vote on the gender-affirming care ban for minors did not follow party lines, unlike previous votes on LGBTQIA+ issues. Before the ballot, Peterborough Democrat Rep. Jonah Wheeler, who left his party, said:
Whether or not you think kids should be able to undergo an inevitable surgery is the question at hand. But yeah, I do not believe that kids should be able to have catastrophic surgery, despite being a liberal who supports individual rights. I’ll therefore endure the warmth that results from this.
Chris Sununu, the governor of the GOP, hasn’t said whether he will sign the legislation, but it must still pass the Republican-led Senate and be signed into law. If Sununu signs it into laws, New Hampshire did join Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina, Nebraska, Utah, Texas, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, Iowa, Georgia, Indiana, South Dakota, and Oklahoma as the 21st states to implement such a ban.
Gender-affirming treatment restrictions unfairly target the transgender community. Courtney Reed, the plan recommend for the ACLU of New Hampshire, stated in a statement in response to the House ballot:
Now is a particularly depressing time in New Hampshire, where lawmakers voted against LGBTQ+ rights on four individual bills rather than listening to trans Granite Staters, health professionals, and convincing medical data. We urge all State Senators to resist these risky charges that boost significant constitutional issues this congressional session because they undermine the right to equal protection under the law for LGBTQ+ individuals. After today’s dishonorable vote, it is more crucial than ever to convey the message that the Granite State respects the rights of LGBTQ+ people and that our privileges are not up for debate. Our condition has repeatedly stated that these persons belong.
The choice was made as a result of some trans rights seats in the New Hampshire House. The House just voted against House Bill 264, which would have allowed a person to change their baby certificate’s sexual designation from the one they were given at birth. If the act had been approved, it would have altered the long-standing regulations mandating that people obtain a court order. House Bill 396, which would have allowed state and public entities to categorize “individuals based on biological sex in balcony infrastructure and locker rooms, sporting events, and confinement services,” was also defeated by the House.
Trans kids and their families need to make private healthcare decisions that are best for them, and they shouldn’t be discriminated against and segregated in schools, carceral settings, or other spaces, according to Linds Jakows, co-founder of 603 Equality, in a statement in response to this rash of anti-trans legislation.
