The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold a Tennessee law banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors drew mixed reactions in New Hampshire, where lawmakers are finalizing similar legislation.
Republican-backed bills restricting puberty blockers, hormones and chest surgeries before age 18 are likely heading to Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s desk in the coming weeks.
“I think it was a good decision by the Supreme Court, and it certainly clears the way for some of the bills that we’ve already passed and will be working on,” said Rep. Jim Kofalt, a Wilton Republican, referring to the pending legislation as well as a narrower ban on some gender-affirming surgeries that passed last year.
Local LGBTQ rights advocates denounced the ruling, saying it would allow states to deny trans youth necessary medical care.
“Gender-affirming care saved my life and has been tremendously helpful in making me feel comfortable in my own body and making me feel whole again in a way that no other treatment could,” said State Rep. Alice Wade, a Dover Democrat and one of the state’s few transgender lawmakers. “And it's going to be an extremely hard next few years for trans people all around the country.”
Wade said the prospect of these bills becoming law is pushing some families out of New Hampshire.
“I've talked with moms who have had to move out of state because they need to get their kids health care,” she said.
Linds Jakows, who leads the LGBTQ rights group 603 Equality, said advocates and families have been calling on Ayotte to veto these bills, and the court’s ruling adds to the sense of urgency. Jakows said some parents of young trans people have met with the governor’s office.
“People are still fighting and making it clear that these are decisions that should be made between families and doctors,” Jakows said.
Ayotte’s office did not respond to a request for comment on whether she plans to sign the bills.
In a statement, the ACLU of New Hampshire called the ruling “a painful setback” but said it would continue to fight proposed restrictions on gender-affirming care.
“Transgender young people and their families are not alone in the road ahead: we will continue to fight in courtrooms and communities across the country to ensure all people — including transgender people — have the dignity and equality they deserve and the freedom to shape their own futures,” said Executive Director Devon Chaffee.
Access to gender-affirming care is backed by the country’s leading medical societies, including the American Medical Society and American Academy of Pediatrics. But Republican lawmakers in New Hampshire and elsewhere have called those treatments inappropriate for children.
New Hampshire would join more than two dozen other Republican-controlled states that have restricted gender-affirming care for youth if the pending bills become law.
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