South Dakota lawmakers send transgender youth health care ban to Noem’s desk

Reproductive rights aren't the only divide at the Minnesota-South Dakota border. From the South Dakota Searchlight.

Lawmakers send transgender youth health care ban to Noem’s desk
By Seth Tupper

South Dakota legislators sent a bill to Gov. Kristi Noem’s desk Thursday that would ban some forms of health care for transgender youth. 

Noem will now decide whether to sign the bill into law. She previously expressed support for the legislation. 

Supporters said the bill would protect children and parents from making decisions they might later regret, while opponents said it intrudes on private medical decisions and puts transgender children at risk of harm from a lack of necessary medical care. The bill comes amid a national debate on the subject, with multiple states passing or considering similar legislation.

Sen. Al Novstrup, R-Aberdeen, the bill’s prime sponsor in the Senate, advocated for the bill’s passage during the Senate debate.

“We need to stand up for the vulnerable children in our state,” Novstrup said. “We care deeply about children who are struggling with their identities, and want to provide them with true, meaningful help, not permanent physical damage.”

The bill passed by a vote of 30-4, with one senator excused. The no votes came from the chamber’s four Democrats: Sens. Shawn Bordeaux of Mission, Red Dawn Foster of Pine Ridge, and Liz Larson and Reynold Nesiba of Sioux Falls. Sen. Josh Klumb, R-Mitchell, was excused.

Failed amendments

Nesiba proposed an unsuccessful amendment that would have required the state Department of Social Services to make mental health counseling available for children with gender dysphoria. He said if the state bans all other forms of health care for transgender children, there should be some protection for the remaining form of legal care.

“If you vote for this amendment, at least you can say that you’re serious about not doing harm, that we want to help,” Nesiba said. “We want to make sure these kids have access to counseling.”

Sen. Tim Reed, R-Brookings, also tried unsuccessfully to amend the bill. His amendment would have allowed prescription puberty blockers for children.

“Puberty blockers can calm a child’s anxiety so that counseling can begin,” Reed said. “Blockers have a place helping families navigate through an extremely difficult situation.”

Bill language

The final version of the bill would apply to health care professionals treating children younger than 18. It would ban the prescribing of puberty blockers; the prescribing of testosterone, estrogen or progesterone in amounts “greater than would normally be produced” by a healthy person; the performing of several forms of surgeries; and the removing of “any healthy or non-diseased body part or tissue.” 

There are exemptions allowing the banned treatments in situations the bill describes as a “disorder of sex development” – such as when a child has “irresolvably ambiguous” physical sex characteristics. The exemptions also cover children who need treatment for an infection, injury, disease or disorder that has been caused or exacerbated by any of the banned procedures.

Another section of the bill allows for systematic reductions of any drug or hormone treatments already underway when the bill becomes law, if the immediate termination of the treatments would cause harm to the patient.

The bill would authorize lawsuits against any health care professionals who perform the banned procedures, and subject them to the revocation of their professional licenses. 

Reaction

Prior hearings on the bill – especially those in legislative committees, where private citizens are allowed to speak – included hours of impassioned testimony. Thursday, civil rights and LGBTQ advocacy groups immediately condemned the bill’s final legislative passage.

“Discrimination against a marginalized group is a distraction from the state’s real needs and hurts us all,” said a written statement from Samantha Chapman, advocacy manager for the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota.

Susan Williams, executive director of The Transformation Project in Sioux Falls, issued a statement addressing transgender youth on social media.

“Attacks from the SD State Legislature can make you forget that there are thousands of allies in this state who value you & want you to live a long & happy life right here in South Dakota,” Williams wrote. “We love you & will continue fighting for you each & every day.”

The ACLU and Transformation Project are among the groups encouraging protests prior to Saturday morning legislative forums in multiple cities. 

Here's the tweet linked in the article's final sentence:

Sioux Falls, show your support for SD trans youth on Sat. Feb. 11, then attend the Legislative Coffee. Bring a sign & protest HB1080. Demonstrations across South Dakota this Sat. are in protest of HB 1080, legislation that would ban gender-affirming healthcare for trans minors. pic.twitter.com/lmZv2dh0jJ

— Transformation Project Advocacy Network (@TransadvocacySD) February 8, 2023

The poster at the top of this post is drawn from the Transformation Project's Facebook page.

In a press release, the group stated:

The South Dakota Senate just passed HB1080 this afternoon on a vote of 30-4 with 1 excused. This bill seeks to prevent doctors from providing gender-affirming care for our transgender children.

“We have worked day and night to stop this bill every step along the way. Unfortunately, Governor Kristi Noem has signaled her support for this bill and the legislature has raced to send it to her desk,” said Susan Williams, Exec. Dir. of Transformation Project Advocacy Network (TPAN). “We are very disappointed by the passage of HB1080 by the South Dakota Legislature. This harmful legislation targets the transgender community and removes access to life-saving medical care. Unfortunately, the majority of legislators in SD appear to have no regard for this vulnerable population and are willing to ignore the overwhelming advice of medical professionals in order to serve their own interests. We know that this has been an extremely difficult week for the transgender community in South Dakota. We want them to know that we are here for them and will not let this decision deter us from fighting for them. This weekend we will be holding protests throughout the state and will make sure that legislators know the harm that their actions have caused.

The South Dakota Searchlight article is republished online under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

Related posts

•  Update: Transformation Project calls termination of state contract ‘unwarranted’ 
•  Will Governor Kristi Noem have a sad over latest South Dakota transgender drama?
•  SD Searchlight: Transgender employee at center of contract controversy pledges to fight on

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