Idaho’s Republican-controlled House of Representatives has passed a bill criminalising all gender-affirming healthcare for trans minors in the state, equating such procedures with female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C).
The draft bill, HB71, says medical workers who provide gender-affirming healthcare, including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgery, to anyone under the age of 18 can be prosecuted. If convicted, they could be imprisoned for up to ten years. Authorising this care is also considered a felony under the bill, so parents could be prosecuted too.
Campaigners have warned the bill will both deprive trans minors of essential healthcare and put girls at increased risk of FGM/C.
