On Monday, South Dakota became the latest state to ban genital mutilation procedures for minors.
Gov. Kristi Noem (R) signed HB 1080, also called the “Help Not Harm” bill, into law.
The law will go into effect on July 1, 2023.
The legislation prevents minors from accessing “puberty-blocking drugs, surgeries or hormone therapies in order to change their genders,” according to Newsmax.
There are also punishments for doctors who provide these interventions, including potential revocation of their medical licenses and exposure to lawsuits.
The bill reads that “a healthcare professional may not, for the purpose of attempting to alter the appearance of, or to validate a minor’s perception of, the minor’s sex, if that appearance or perception is inconsistent with the minor’s sex, knowingly.”
This is a major win for the children of South Dakota.
Per Newsmax:
There are also punishments for doctors who provide these interventions, including potential revocation of their medical licenses and exposure to lawsuits.
State Republicans introduced the bill in January. The law will go into effect July 1.
“South Dakota’s kids are our future. With this legislation, we are protecting kids from harmful, permanent medical procedures. I will always stand up for the next generation of South Dakotans,” Noem said in a statement Monday.
HB 1080 reads:
Except as provided in section 3 of this Act, a healthcare professional may not, for the purpose of attempting to alter the appearance of, or to validate a minor’s perception of, the minor’s sex, if that appearance or perception is inconsistent with the minor’s sex, knowingly:
(1) Prescribe or administer any drug to delay or stop normal puberty;
(2) Prescribe or administer testosterone, estrogen, or progesterone, in amounts greater than would normally be produced endogenously in a healthy individual of the same age and sex;
(3) Perform any sterilizing surgery, including castration, hysterectomy, oophorectomy, orchiectomy, penectomy, and vasectomy;
(4) Perform any surgery that artificially constructs tissue having the appearance of genitalia differing from the minor’s sex, including metoidioplasty, phalloplasty, and vaginoplasty; or
(5) Remove any healthy or non-diseased body part or tissue.Section 3. That chapter 34-24 be amended with a NEW SECTION:
The prohibitions of section 2 of this Act do not limit or restrict the provision of services to:
(1) A minor born with a medically verifiable disorder of sex development, including external biological sex characteristics that are irresolvably ambiguous;
(2) A minor diagnosed with a disorder of sexual development, if a healthcare provider has determined, through genetic or biochemical testing, that the minor does not have a sex chromosome structure, sex steroid hormone production, or sex steroid hormone action, that is normal for a biological male or biological female; or
(3) A minor needing treatment for an infection, injury, disease, or disorder that has been caused or exacerbated by any action or procedure prohibited by section 2 of this Act.Section 4. That chapter 34-24 be amended with a NEW SECTION:
If a professional or occupational licensing board finds, by a preponderance of the evidence and in compliance with chapter 1-26, that a healthcare professional licensed or certified by the board has violated section 2 of this Act, the board must revoke any professional or occupational license or certificate held by the healthcare professional.
Read the full bill here:
The move by Noem was swiftly condemned by LGBTQ advocacy groups, of course.
“This ban denies transgender and nonbinary youth crucial support and care. Even in the face of professional guidance from every major medical and mental health association in the country that supports this type of care, politicians are intruding into the private medical decisions best left to transgender young people and their families,” said Casey Pick, director of law and policy for The Trevor Project.
Utah became the first state to ban genital mutilation of minors last month.
Other states have passed similar bills banning gender-affirming care, but some states’ bans, including Alabama and Arkansas, have been blocked by court orders.
