House passes ban on puberty blockers, hormone therapies for minors

Yahoo

28-03-2025

Rep. Alice Wade, a Dover Democrat and a transgender lawmaker, speaks against House Bill 148, which would roll back some anti-discrimination protections for transgender people, on Thursday, March 20, 2025. On March 27, Wade also spoke out against HB 377. (Photo by Ethan DeWitt/New Hampshire Bulletin)
Transgender children and teenagers would be barred from receiving hormone therapy and puberty blockers under a bill that passed the New Hampshire House Thursday on nearly party lines.
House Bill 377 would prohibit any medical procedures for people under 18 'for the purpose of altering or attempting to alter the appearance of or affirm the minor's perception of his or her gender or sex, if that perception is inconsistent with the minor's biological sex.' That prohibition includes puberty-blocking and hormone medication.
Democrats decried the bill as discriminatory against transgender children, and said parents should be able to decide whether their children should have the treatments. Opponents noted that the medications would be denied only to minors who are seeking to realize their gender identity but would still be available for certain physical conditions, which they said meant the bill is aimed at transgender people.
The bill 'unfairly targets a very small number of minors from getting the care that their parents and their medical providers believe they need,' said Rep. Jessica LaMontagne, a Dover Democrat. 'Despite what some proponents of this bill are telling you, these drugs are used safely and effectively for other reasons and their effects are reversible.'
A number of Democratic representatives read testimony from children who have received gender-affirming medication and have improved their lives.
But Republicans argued the procedures are dangerous, are difficult to undo, and that too little is known about their side effects.
'These drugs are not perfectly safe,' said Rep. Erica Layon, a Derry Republican. 'Anybody who says that is misleading parents, misleading kids, and misleading all of us.'
Much of the Republican caucus left the House chamber during Democrats' speeches opposing the bill.
The act specifically bans medical procedures 'enabling a minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the minor's biological sex and asserted identity.' Medical professionals who violate the proposed law could be charged with a Class B felony, which can carry up to seven years in prison and a fine of up to $4,000.
The bill has exceptions for procedures for minors 'with a medically verifiable disorder of sex development.' And it would allow medical professionals who had already started a minor on such treatment before the bill takes effect to continue the treatment if stopping it 'would cause harm to the minor,' but requires the dosage to be tapered and reduced.
The bill would take effect Jan. 1, 2026.
HB 377 would expand upon a bill that passed in 2024 and that banned gender transition 'bottom' surgeries for people under 18 in New Hampshire. Research indicates that gender-affirming procedures are rare for minors; a 2025 study from Harvard analyzing insurance claims from 2018 to 2022 found that about 0.1 percent of adolescents between age 8 and 17 have received puberty blockers or hormone replacement therapy.
LaMontagne argued the bill prevented families from making the decision to support their child, and said the procedures usually follow years of therapy and discussion.
'This body just passed the parental bill of rights that includes the right to make health care decisions,' she said. 'So I call on all of you that voted for the parental bill of rights: Do you believe that parents know best, or do you not?'
Rep. Alice Wade, a Dover Democrat who is transgender, said the therapies helped her transition and saved her life during a period when she was suicidal. Wade transitioned after she turned 18 but argued that other teenagers benefit from the procedures.
'Imagine receiving life-saving care, then having someone with no understanding or experience try to rip that away from you because they think they know better,' Wade said.
She added: 'When people in this body say that we need nuanced discussions and compromise, I agree. The problem is that my position is I'd like to have access to health care, equal treatment, and to mind my own business.'
But Rep. Lisa Mazur, a Goffstown Republican, argued that children and families did not know the risks of what they are choosing to adopt.
'Children cannot fully comprehend the lifelong consequences of altering their bodies with powerful medications,' Mazur said. '… Gender dysphoria is real and it's painful, and those struggling deserve compassion, but rushing minors into irreversible medical interventions is not the answer.'
Layon added: 'Parents can't give informed consent if they aren't told of the risks of drugs and if they are told that the only alternative to treatment is as a dead child, because that is coercion and not consent.'
The bill passed 197-167, with two Democrats, Reps. Dale Girard of Claremont and Jonah Wheeler of Peterborough, joining Republicans in favor, and four Republicans, Reps. Nicholas Bridle of Hampton, David Nagel of Gilmanton, John Styek of Salem, and Susan Vandecasteele of Salem, joining Democrats opposed. It heads next to the Senate.