Montana became the latest state to ban or restrict gender-affirming Medicare for transgender children on Friday when its Republican governor signed a law requiring lawmakers exiled for transgender Zoe Zephyr to tell fellow lawmakers they will have “blood on their hands.”
Montana is one of at least 15 states that have laws prohibiting such sponsorship Despite protests from families of transgender youth that care is necessary.
The controversy over the Montana bill drew national attention After the Republicans punished Zephyr for her remarks, saying her lyrics were personally offensive. House Speaker Matt Rigier refused to allow Zephyr to speak on the House floor until she apologized. she has not.
Zephyr decried the signing of the law, saying “It is unconscionable to deny Montana residents the care we need.”
“I know this bill is unconstitutional,” Zephyr said. “It is as cruel as it is unconstitutional. It will go to court.” She added, “There’s an understandable tendency towards despair in these moments, but know we’ll win and until then, count on the community, because we’ll have each other.”
On Monday, Zephyr stood defiantly on the House floor with her microphone held up as protesters shouted “Let her speak,” disrupting House proceedings for at least 30 minutes. Zephyr was then barred from entering the house and voted on bills from a seat in the hallway outside the house on Thursdays and Fridays.
Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Montana ACLU said they will file a court challenge against the ban, which is set to take effect Oct. 1, beginning with a five-month watch during which young Montanas can find a way around the ban or move on. from hormone therapy.
The Montana chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics said, “This law is a very broad blanket ban that takes decisions that families and doctors should make and puts them in the hands of politicians.”
Governor Greg Gianforte indicated he was ready to sign the law on April 17 when he introduced some amendments to make it clear that public funds cannot be used to pay for hormone blockers, sex hormones or surgeries.
The bill “protects Montana children from permanent, life-altering medical procedures until they are adults, mature enough to make such serious decisions,” Ganforte wrote in his letter accompanying the amendments.
The Montana Freedom Caucus intentionally offended Zephyr, Use masculine pronouns in the letter by saying that she should be blamed. After Monday’s protest, the caucus said she should be subject to more discipline.
Under the new law, health professionals who provide care prohibited by the measure can suspend their medical licenses for at least a year. They can also be sued within 25 years after a prohibited procedure if the patient suffered physical, psychological, emotional or physical harm. Doctors cannot obtain malpractice insurance against such lawsuits. The law also prohibits public property and employees from participating in the handling of gender confirmation.
Within hours of emotional panel sessions, opponents testified that hormonal therapies and, in some cases, surgery, are evidence-based care, supported by many medical societies and can save the life of someone with gender dysphoria — the clinically significant distress or impairment caused by By feeling that one’s gender identity does not match one’s biological sex.
Parents of transgender children testified that the bill violated their parental rights to seek medical care for their children.
Opponents have also pointed out that treatments such as puberty blockers and breast reduction surgery would still be legal for minors without gender dysphoria, a difference they argue is unconstitutional.
In the letter to legislative leaders accompanying his proposed amendments, Gianforte said he has met trans residents, recognized their struggles as real and said Montanaans who struggle with gender identity deserve love, compassion and respect.
“This is not what the people of Montana need from you,” Zephyr said as the House considered his amendments. “We need access to life-saving medical care.”
This was the second legislative session in which Senator John Fuller introduced a bill to ban gender affirmation care for transgender children. In 2021, while a member of the House of Representatives, he brought a bill to ban surgical and hormonal treatments for transgender children, and it was voted down. He introduced a second bill to ban surgical treatments, which were also rejected. In 2021 he succeeded in passing a bill banning transgender women from participating in girls’ and women’s sports. The portion of the bill that applies to colleges was ruled unconstitutional.
