Nearly twenty Republican legislators in Montana’s state house helped reject a bill that would have charged adults with “endangering child welfare” if they obtained gender-affirming medical care for children under the age of 16.
Seventeen Republicans joined Montana Democrats to take down the bill which had already been approved by the state’s Republican majority Senate. S.B. 164 sought to penalize any adult who “knowingly procures or provides” gender-affirming care to minors, with fines up to $10,000 or imprisonment up to five years.
The harsh bill didn’t just target doctors or health care providers, but any adult in the state, even those whose children may obtain gender-affirming treatments out of state, according to LGBTQ Nation. This also included tourists to Montana, medical workers, and employees at pro-LGBTQ organizations who may help trans youth access care.
One of the many legislators who voted against the bill was Montana’s only out trans legislator, Zoeey Zephyr. She wrote on Bluesky (an alternative to Twitter): “The tide is changing in Montana!” She noted that Republicans and Democrats also united to kill a “forced outing” bill in House Education earlier this month.
Nonbinary state Rep. SJ Howell argued that the bill didn’t mention any exceptions for intersex people, who without proper treatment could face fatal complications. “This bill has a lot of concern for me about parental rights. At the end of the day, there are a lot of parents of trans kids that are just doing what they believe is best for their kids. This criminalizes those parents,” he said according to independent
Though this is a win for Montana’s trans community, the state legislature is slated to consider more bans on gender-affirming care in the coming months. Currently, up for debate are H.B. 471 which would require schools to inform parents if any course curriculums covered LGBTQ+ topics or issues; H.B. 655 which bans governments from punishing religious foster care providers that discriminate against LGBTQ+ people; and S.B. 437 which eliminates all government recognition of trans and nonbinary gender identities in Montana.
Limiting access to gender-affirming care remains at the top of many conservative agendas despite most major U.S. medical associations backing these treatments as safe and crucial to the well-being of trans youth.
