A bill criminalizing gender-affirming healthcare for minors has overwhelmingly passed the Idaho House. It would subject physicians to felony charges if they provide puberty blockers, hormone treatment or gender-affirming surgeries to transgender youth under 18. Republican lawmakers in more than two dozen other states have pushed for bans on gender-affirming care this year. The bill in Idaho passed on a near party-line vote, with only one Republican voting no. The bill now goes to the Senate, where a similar gender-affirming care ban died last year. Many of the bills mirror language that was used in the Parents Rights In Education law that was erroneously referred to in some media sources as the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law, proposed in more than a dozen states last year. It prohibits schools from using curriculum, books or discussions that involve gender identity or sexual orientation involving young children.
