GOP lawmakers pushing transgender health care limitations on minors in NC

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – There would be new limits on how medical professionals treat transgender children under a bill the state Senate passed on Tuesday.

The bill would prohibit medical professionals from performing surgical gender transition procedures on minors and prescribing, providing or dispensing puberty-blocking drugs or cross-sex hormones to minors, with some exceptions. State funds could not be used for those treatments either.

If the bill becomes law, medical professionals could lose their licenses if they violate it. They could also be sued by people who underwent any of those procedures as minors.

“Parents should still have the right to consent to life-saving medical care for their children whether or not my next-door neighbor thinks that,” said Margaret Bilodeau, whose 15-year-old son Rowan is transgender.

They joined a group that protested the bill, which is among several Republican lawmakers aiming to pass this session impacting transgender people.

“We don’t allow children to do a lot of things. We don’t allow them to purchase cigarettes, alcohol. We don’t allow them to consent to sex,” said Sen. Joyce Krawiec (R-Forsyth).

Last week, the General Assembly passed a bill putting new limits on transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.

During a hearing Monday on the healthcare bill, Sen. Paul Newton (R-Cabarrus) pushed back on criticism Republicans have received.

“It’s been portrayed as some sort of hateful bill and so forth. But, I am 100% convinced we’re on the right side of history,” he said. “And, we’re protecting this moment in history where this fad seems to be overtaking the social media airwaves and whatnot.”

With the bill passing, it likely will be challenged in court soon after.

Last week, a federal judge in Arkansas struck down a similar law in that state, saying it violated the rights of transgender people as well as medical professionals. Arkansas was the first state to enact such a law.

“This decision sends a clear message: fearmongering and misinformation about this healthcare do not hold up to scrutiny,” said Liz Barber, of the ACLU of North Carolina.