Written by BRYAN ANDERSON

Three North Carolina Republican lawmakers introduced a bill Monday that would prevent doctors from performing gender reassignment surgery for transgender people younger than 21.

The legislation follows a nationwide trend of GOP-controlled state legislatures looking to limit treatments for transgender adolescents. Unlike other states, however, North Carolina would classify adults between the ages of 18 and 21 as minors under the “Youth Health Protection Act.”

Medical professionals who facilitate a transgender person’s desire to present themselves or appear in a way that is inconsistent with their biological sex could have their license revoked and face civil fines of up to $1,000 per occurrence. The measure bars doctors from providing gender confirming hormone treatment, puberty blockers or surgery.

Senate Bill 514 would also compel state employees to immediately notify parents in writing if their child displays “gender nonconformity” or expresses a desire to be treated in a way that is incompatible with the gender they were assigned at birth. LGBTQ advocates fear the bill would out people under 21 who tell state workers that they may be transgender.

“Transgender youth have the best chance to thrive when they are supported and affirmed, not singled out and denied critical care that is backed by virtually every leading health authority,” said a statement from the Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, executive director of the Campaign for Southern Equality, adding that “a person’s gender identity shouldn’t limit their ability to access health care or be treated with dignity and respect.”

Republican state Sen. Ralph Hise, who represents portions of western North Carolina and wrote the bill, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. GOP Sens. Warren Daniel and Norman Sanderson, who represent western and coastal areas of the state, respectively, also support the proposal.

In Arkansas on Monday, the state’s Republican governor, Asa Hutchinson, vetoed a bill that would have made his state the first in the nation to ban gender confirming treatments or surgery for transgender youth under 18.

The proposal in North Carolina will almost certainly not become law, despite GOP majorities in both the state House and Senate. Senate leader Phil Berger was not immediately available for comment on whether he supports the measure and wants it to go to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.

North Carolina Democrats last week unveiled a legislative package aimed at ensuring LGBTQ residents have greater legal protections. Among the plans put forward was a full repeal of House Bill 2, the state’s so-called “bathroom bill” that was passed in 2016 and partially repealed a year later. State lawmakers also pushed to prohibit gay conversion therapy practices. The bill introduced Monday by the three GOP senators would not allow the state or any licensing boards to punish people who provide therapy that is consistent with their conscience or religious beliefs.

 

Related Stories
‹
Anti-Transgender Legislation Resonates on Day of Remembrance
Written by HANNAH SCHOENBAUM Persistent efforts by North Carolina’s legislature to restrict transgender lives cast a shadow over Callum Bradford as he grew up in Chapel Hill, following him through his journey of self-discovery, coming out and obtaining the gender-affirming health care the 16-year-old credits as lifesaving. After Republicans swept most state-level elections this month, […]
North Carolina Won't Pass Bill to Ban Youth Trans Procedures
Written by BRYAN ANDERSON The office of North Carolina’s Republican Senate leader said on Tuesday the chamber won’t advance a controversial bill put forward this month by three GOP members that sought to limit medical treatments for transgender people under 21. The measure also aimed to punish doctors who facilitate a patient’s desire to present themselves or appear […]
Veto Overridden: Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Minors Takes Effect in North Carolina
Written by HANNAH SCHOENBAUM Transgender youth in North Carolina lost access Wednesday to gender-affirming medical treatments after the Republican-led General Assembly overrode the governor’s vetoes of that legislation and other bills touching on gender in sports and LGBTQ+ instruction in the classroom. GOP supermajorities in the House and Senate enacted — over Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s opposition […]
North Carolina Legislature Pushes Limits on Transgender Youth Rights in Final Days of Session
Written by HANNAH SCHOENBAUM Transgender rights took center stage Tuesday in North Carolina as the GOP-controlled General Assembly advanced legislation to restrict gender-affirming health care and trans participation in sports. The legislative push comes in the dwindling days of the North Carolina session and as many Republican-led state legislatures round out a record year of legislation targeting […]
Transgender Sports Ban Nears Finish Line in North Carolina Legislature
Written by HANNAH SCHOENBAUM A bill banning transgender girls from playing on the middle school, high school and college sports teams that align with their gender identity is approaching the finish line in North Carolina as GOP-controlled state legislatures nationwide round out a record year of legislation targeting transgender residents. The North Carolina bill, which […]
Transgender Surgery Ban Advances in North Carolina House
Written by HANNAH SCHOENBAUM Dozens of transgender North Carolinians and their supporters spoke out against state lawmakers Tuesday as a House committee advanced legislation banning gender-affirming surgeries for minors without allowing members of the public to testify. The audience erupted in chants of “Let us speak” and “Blood on your hands” as the Republican-controlled House Health Committee […]
Newly Veto-Proof North Carolina GOP Files Transgender Bans
Written by HANNAH SCHOENBAUM On the heels of a Democratic state lawmaker’s seismic shift to the Republican Party, North Carolina Republicans have filed a flurry of bills aimed at transgender youth as they look to capitalize on their newly attained supermajority. Five Senate bills filed this week before the chamber’s Thursday filing deadline would ban […]
Health Experts, Orange County Officials Share Concern for LGBTQ Wellbeing in Wake of NC Bills
The passage of two bills by the North Carolina General Assembly has drawn condemnation from some elected bodies in Orange County and local pediatric health experts alike for their anti-LGBTQ+ elements. The bills’ sponsors say the elimination of gender-affirming medical care for those under 18, as well as the requirement of educators to alert parents […]
NC Speaker: Parents’ Bill With LGBTQ Limits Might Be Shelved
Written by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A North Carolina “Parents’ Bill of Rights” measure pushed by Senate Republicans but condemned by LGBTQ activists and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper may not get a final vote in the House before this year’s session ends soon, Speaker Tim Moore said on Wednesday. The measure was billed by GOP senators as […]
Fairness Watchword at NC Transgender Sports Ban Hearing
Calls for fairness predominated at a North Carolina legislative hearing Wednesday on a bill that would prevent transgender girls and women from competing in organized school sports designated for biologically female athletes. A House judiciary committee debated and took testimony on the measure but did not vote on the Republican bill, one of dozens of measures filed […]
›