South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem signed a bill Monday that bans surgical and non-surgical gender-affirming treatments for transgender youth. The law goes into effect on July 1.
HB 1080The “Help Not Harm” bill, better known as “Help Not Harm,” first pitched to the South Dakota House in January, and was signed into law less than a month later. South Dakota now It joins Utah as the second state This year to ban gender confirmation sponsorship for transgender minors.
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Health care providers who violate the new law by providing hormone replacement therapy, gender confirmation surgery or other types of care to young people under the age of 18 risk civil lawsuits, and potentially losing their licenses.
Noem said Press release on the bill. “I will always advocate for the next generation of South Dakota.”
The state Senate voted 30-4 to send the bill to the governor after the House of Representatives introduced it by a vote of 60-10.
While Noem and her proponents have called trans healthcare “harmful,” research has shown that access to trans medical can be A major step in improving the quality of life for transgender people. Analysis of 56 peer-reviewed works Project what we know It found that in 93% of studies, transitioning between the sexes improved the general well-being of transgender respondents.
“Early gender affirmation care is critical to the overall health and well-being of ‘trans and non-binary youth,’ because it allows the child or teen to focus on social transitions and can increase their confidence as they navigate the health care system,” according to US Department of Health and Human ServicesAnd
Experts also say that accessing gender confirmation care can be A matter of life or death for young transients. a A study published in the journal Pediatrics It found that approximately 51% of female-to-male respondents had attempted suicide, while the average youth suicide rate in the United States is 9%, according to 2022 study by the University of California.
Opponents of the bill immediately expressed concern about its passage.
South Dakota Civil Liberties Union Books FacebookThis ban will not prevent South Dakota residents from being transgender, but it will deny them the necessary support that helps transgender youth grow into transgender adults.
“We will never stop fighting for the right of transgender youth to the love, support and care that every young person deserves,” the federation added. “As much as Governor Noem wants to force these young people to live a lie, we know they are strong enough to live their truth, and we will always fight for communities and policies that protect their freedom to do so.”
Susan Williams, executive director of the Transformation Project Advocacy Network, which works to promote the “dignity and well-being of transgender people in South Dakota,” wrote in South Dakota: Facebook share After the bill passed in the Senate: “Our community is sad. Our community is angry. Worst of all, our community is afraid.”
Williams added, “I feel betrayed by the elected officials who are supposed to protect my family who just voted against us.”
This isn’t the first time South Dakota has targeted transgender people in the state. In February 2022, Naeem signed SB 46which bans transgender girls from competing on cisgender sports teams, joining a slew of other US states that have recently signed anti-transgender athletics legislation.
More than two dozen states have attempted to enact measures that would either restrict or completely block access to gender affirmation care for transgender youth in 2022, according to hilland 20 bills targeting transient Medicare previously introduced in at least nine states for 2023, including South Dakota.
C Mandler
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