North Dakota to start imprisoning doctors who provide gender-affirming care to trans youth

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, greets U.S. President Donald J. Trump arrives at the North Dakota Air National Guard Base
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The Republican governor of North Dakota signed a law that makes gender-affirming care for transgender youth illegal in the state, carrying a penalty of up to 10 years in prison for doctors caught helping trans youth.

The bill went into effect immediately after North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) signed it on Wednesday. The law would have been passed even if he vetoed it since the legislature passed it with a veto-proof majority. All Democrats in the Montana legislature voted against it.

H.B. 1254 bans reversible puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy – forms of gender-affirming care available to some trans teens – but Burgum’s statement mentioned surgery, which mostly is not available to minors, saying that the law is “aimed at protecting children from the life-altering ramifications of gender reassignment surgeries.” He also acknowledged that these surgeries are not performed on minors in the state of North Dakota.

Despite the non-existence of gender-affirming surgery for minors in the state, the law makes providing gender-affirming surgery to a minor a felony punishable with…

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