Joining the growing list of legislation related to transgender North Carolinians, access to gender-affirming care for some transgender minors may be on the line this year.
A new proposal would prohibit the use of public health care facilities or state money for various forms of gender-affirming care for transgender minors. That includes hormone-replacement therapy or gender transition surgery.
The plan by Republican lawmakers also outlines a list of public health care facilities that would be barred from such practices, including the UNC Health Care system, local health departments and facilities operated under the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
In response to “false information circulating on social media,” UNC Health tweeted last month that the system provides “age-appropriate, gender-affirming care to our patients and families based on national guidelines and standards of care.“ Surgeries for minors are not provided through UNC Health, the university health system said.
Lawmakers rolled out their latest plan by stripping out the contents of an unrelated bill, Senate Bill 631, and replacing it. The bill was approved by a House committee on Tuesday.
Legislation restricting gender-affirming care has become increasingly common across the country in recent years. Twenty states have passed laws limiting access to gender-affirming care as of June 6, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
NC lawmakers spar over ‘parental choice’ for gender-affirming care
Speaking on behalf of the bill, Rep. Timothy Reeder, a Pitt County Republican and physician, summarized it as a way to limit children from “potentially life-altering treatments.”
He said the bill does not seek to limit treatment for gender dysphoria, which is a feeling of distress related to one’s gender identity.
A few lawmakers disagreed with Reeder’s sentiment, including Rep. Cecil Brockman, a Guilford County Democrat who prompted a few minutes of back-and-forth questioning on the bill. One of Brockman’s main concerns was that it made getting treatment for transgender children difficult for parents, he said during the meeting.
“Why are we standing in the way of parents making this decision for their children?” Brockman asked.
Reeder defended the legislation, pointing out it only limited treatments for public health care facilities.
Rep. Maria Cervania, a Wake County Democrat, agreed with Brockman’s concern regarding “parental choice.” She inquired about the “differentiating factor” between school choice, pushed heavily by NC Republicans this year, and health care choices.
The permanence of a choice to transition a minor is a primary difference between school choice and gender-affirming care, Reeder said.
“When you’re choosing your school, it’s not a permanent intervention,” Reeder said in the meeting.
A transgender 15-year-old, Rowan Bilodeau, came from Pittsboro to deliver public comment in opposition to the bill. Bilodeau recalled memories of being called slurs and being suicidal before undergoing hormone replacement therapy.
“My access to gender-affirming care saved my life. I want others to have that same opportunity,” Bilodeau said at the meeting. “I’m tired of seeing my brothers and sisters die because they are being denied their rights.”
But Prisha Mosley, also speaking to her personal experience with gender-affirming care, said it caused “severe and lasting injuries.” Mosley said she underwent hormone replacement therapy at 17 years old and a breast reduction surgery at 18 — something she regrets today.
“I am haunted by the ghosts of missing body parts and suffer from chronic pain and a host of additional medical issues and psychological and emotional anguish,” Mosley said in the meeting.
Other transgender-related bills in NC legislature
Other transgender-related bills have gained traction in the legislature this session, including further restrictions gender-affirming care as well as women’s sports.
House Bill 574 or the “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act” would ban transgender women from participating in women’s sports at the middle, high school and university levels. The bill was expected to make its way to the Senate floor Tuesday.
Another bill — House Bill 808 — would prohibit gender transition surgery procedures for minors in North Carolina. That bill is scheduled to be heard in the Senate health care committee at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
