The New Hampshire House has passed a bill banning sex change surgeries for minors.
House Bill 619, passed on Thursday with a 188-175 vote, also bans doctors from recommending out-of-state facilities to minors or their families.
Lawmakers debated for about an hour before ultimately passing it.
“Adolescent genital gender reassignment surgery generally lacks both adequate information for informed consent and involves a high risk of coercion for parental consent when parents believe that they are faced with a choice between their child committing suicide or consenting to their child’s genital gender reassignment surgeries,” the bill states.
The legislation cites a lack of data on the long-term effects of genital gender reassignment surgery on minors.
“In the absence of high quality data to prove safety and efficacy, including long term outcomes, only people over the age of majority should receive genital gender reassignment surgery in the state of New Hampshire,” the bill continues.
Rep. Erica Layon stated during the debate period, “we need to wait, we need to pause,” according to a report from In-Depth NH.
“Is it OK to tell parents the procedure is safe and effective if there is no data?” Rep. Layon asked.
Democrat Rep. Gerri Cannon, who is transgender, argued that three physicians interviewed them to make sure the surgery was what he wanted.
“This is not about surgery, but about why we are considering putting medical processes into New Hampshire law that is constantly changing,” Cannon said. The lawmaker added, “(medical providers) are constantly learning new ways to care for patients and new techniques.”
“It is not right for New Hampshire, it is not right for the transgender community,” Cannon said. “I hope young people do not take this message badly, I am concerned about the health of many young transgender people.”
The bill is also expected to pass the Senate.
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