Idaho moves to ban use of public funds for transgender surgeries and hormone therapy
Idaho is expected to pass a bill this week that would ban public funds from going towards transgender sex change surgeries and hormone therapy treatment on state-owned properties.
It would also bar state properties, facilities or buildings from being used for surgical procedures pertaining to "gender transitions," the bill text states.
House Bill 668, which cleared the state House in a 58-11 vote last week, states public funds "shall not be used… for purposes of altering the appearance of an individual in order to affirm the individual's perception of the individual's sex in a way that is inconsistent with the individual's biological sex regardless of whether the surgical operation or medical intervention is administered to a minor or an adult, except for exempted surgical operations or medical interventions."
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The bill now heads to the Republican-controlled Senate. If it passes, Gov. Brad Little, a Republican, would have to sign off on it. Little has signed bills in recent years opposing similar issues affecting transgender people. Last year, he signed a bill criminalizing sex reassignment surgeries for minors. He also signed a bill prohibiting transgender students from using public restrooms that do not align with their biological sex.
The public funds would specifically target Medicaid, the country's primary federal health insurance program.
The bill also states that physicians and other medical professionals "in the course and scope of employment by the state or a county or local government may provide the surgical operations or medical interventions."
If the bill passes, it would make Idaho the 10th state to ban federal funds from going toward transgender surgical procedures and treatment.
According to the Associated Press, Idaho has had to defend itself against several lawsuits over denying gender transition treatments and surgeries. In one case, the state was ordered to provide a transgender inmate with gender-transition surgery, and the inmate was later awarded roughly $2.5 million in damages.
"This is a taxpayer protection bill in my view," Rep. Bruce Skaug, R– Idaho, one of the bill's sponsors, said during a hearing last week.
If the bill becomes law, the penalties for violations include fines ranging from $300 to $10,000 and the possibility of a prison sentence of up to 14 years.
At least 23 states, including Idaho, have passed laws banning transgender sex changes and hormone treatment for minors. This month, a leading scientific organization in the U.S. — the American Psychological Association — representing more than 150,000 licensed psychologists, announced a new policy urging clinics to provide "unobstructed access" to gender-transitioning treatments for children.