South Dakota State Capitol – Credit: Jimmy Emerson, DVM/flickr
On Wednesday, a South Dakota House committee approved a bill that would ban medical providers from prescribing hormones or gender confirmation surgery for transgender youth.
The bill, sponsored by State Rep. Fred Deutsch (R-Florence), originally made it a felony for any medical professional to provide treatments, including hormones or puberty blockers, to anyone under the age of 18.
The bill was subsequently amended to make the act of prescribing such treatments a Class 1 misdemeanor, lower the age at which a person can begin receiving the treatments from 18 to 16, and exempt medical support staff like nurses or medical assistants.
Under the revised bill, any doctor who provides transition-related treatments to a minor under the age of 16 could face up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $2,000.
The measure was approved by the House State Affairs Committee by an 8-5 vote, with three Republicans voting against it, reports The Washington Post.
Critics of the bill say this will effectively discourage doctors not to provide any form of gender-affirming health care for transgender people, lest they face criminal charges.
They also noted during the hearing that fewer than four physicians in South Dakota offer puberty blockers and hormone therapies, and it is unclear if any perform gender confirmation surgeries — thus making the bill an exercise in political posturing, rather than addressing a specific problem or need.
Proponents of the bill take umbrage — as voiced in a National Review article by Madeleine Kearns — at the suggestion that the bill is anti-LGBTQ, saying that they are concerned that transgender teenagers are too young to make permanent decisions about their health and may live to regret those decisions.
Some members of the coalition pushing for the bill are so-called “ex-transgender” people or rely on claims from people within the “de-transition” movement who say that their transition did not help them with their underlying mental health issues or depression.
Indeed, Deutsch said the impetus for the bill was meeting people who formerly identified as transgender and claimed they were “hurting and suffering” as a result of undergoing surgical or hormonal treatments.
He admitted he consulted with the anti-LGBTQ Liberty Counsel and the Kelsey Coalition, a “nonpartisan,” volunteer-run organization that claims to be interested in protecting youth who identify as transgender.
Deutsch also attended a conference, hosted by the conservative Heritage Foundation, which addressed proposals to ban transition-related treatments for youth in various states, the Post reports.
The Republicans who voted against the bill expressed reservations on how it would be enforced. Rep. Kent Peterson (R-Salem) questioned how the state would access confidential medical information and track prescriptions to ensure that they’re not being given to minors.
Majority Whip Michael Diedrich (R-Rapid City) said he was convinced by testimony from parents, transgender youth, and medical experts that puberty blockers have been helpful to people suffering from gender dysphoria, and that their effects aren’t permanent.
Diedrich attempted to remove puberty blockers from the list of treatments banned by the bill, but his amendment was defeated.
Dr. Alexis Chavez, the medical director for The Trevor Project, a trans psychiatrist who specializes in LGBTQ youth health and has founded several trans health care clinics, criticized the bill as harmful to trans youth.
“This dangerous bill threatens responsible medical professionals with imprisonment for providing best-practice medical care to transgender youth. It cannot be allowed to become law,” Chavez said in a statement.
“The research is clear: supporting transgender and non-binary youth in their identities has positive mental health outcomes and decreases suicide risk. Cutting off access to medically necessary care will cost lives,” Chavez added. “We call on South Dakota’s lawmakers to stop using trans young people as political pawns and to instead work to create safe and affirming environments for all youth to thrive.”
A newly introduced Republican bill in Texas seeks to criminalize anyone who identifies as transgender.
Introduced by State Rep. Tom Oliverson (R-Cypress), the bill would amend the Texas Penal Code to create a new form of fraud known as "gender identity fraud."
Under the bill, if a person makes a "false or misleading verbal or written statement" to a government entity or a private employer asserting that their gender is the opposite of the biological sex assigned to the person at birth, that person could be charged with a felony, could serve up to two years in prison, and be fined $10,000.
Put on your ruby slippers to strut down the red carpet as we ask what queerness means for Academy Awards voters past and present.
By Paul Klein
March 1, 2025
On March 2, Hollywood's elite will gather at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles for the glitziest night of the year -- The 97th Academy Awards. When the Oscar-cast goes live on ABC Sunday evening -- and, for the first time ever, simultaneously streams on Hulu -- seven LGBTQ individuals will sit in hushed anticipation at the possibility of winning Hollywood's highest honors.
For a body often criticized for its lack of diversity and inclusivity, and with the arts under a prolonged political attack from far-right politicians, Sunday night offers a number of potentially groundbreaking moments for queer representation in front of and behind the screen.
Lawmakers in the Montana House of Representatives defeated two anti-LGBTQ bills last week after the chamber's transgender and nonbinary representatives gave impassioned speeches protesting the measures.
State Rep. Zooey Zephyr (D-Missoula), the legislature's first out transgender representative, spoke out against House Bill 675, sponsored by Rep. Caleb Hinkle (R-Belgrade), which sought to ban drag performances and Pride parades in Montana.
Hinkle previously sponsored a ban on public performances of a "sexual nature" that was specifically intended to target drag shows and Drag Queen Story Hour-type events (even if they do not contain sexually explicit content).
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.