Republican New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu signed two bills Friday prohibiting both biological males from participating in youth sports and medical professionals from carrying out sex-change surgeries for minors.
Sununu’s office released a press statement announcing the governor’s decision on HB 1205, which addresses transgender youth in sports, and HB 619, which addresses genital gender reassignment surgery for minors.
“As the debate over HB 619 and HB 1205 has played out in Concord and throughout the state, charged political statements have muddled the conversation and distracted from the two primary factors that any parent must consider: safety and fairness for their children,” the press release states. “These two factors have been my primary consideration in reviewing these bills.”
House Bill 1205, also known as “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act,” is set to take into effect on Aug. 19, requiring all sports teams for grades five through 12 to designate athletes by sex and prohibit biological males who have transitioned to females from participating in female athletics.
The separation will give students the option to join “males, men, or boys,” “females, women, or girls, or “coed or mixed.” Students will be required to provide proof of their biological sex through their birth certificate, showing their gender “at or near the time of the student’s birth.”
“HB 1205 ensures fairness and safety in women’s sports by maintaining integrity and competitive balance in athletic competitions. With this widely supported step, New Hampshire joins nearly half of all U.S. States in taking this measure,” the press release says.
House Bill 619 is set to ban medical providers from carrying out “genital gender reassignment surgery” for those under 18 years old, which will include vaginoplasties, phalloplasty and metoidioplasty — all of which create artificial genitalia. Under the new law, the surgeries will be labeled as “unprofessional conduct,” allowing both minors and their parents to sue a doctor who carries out the procedure up to two years after and licensing board to discipline doctors, according to NHPR.
Within the press release, Sununu’s office commented on the Biden administration opposing youth surgeries, “citing the American Academy of Pediatrics,” as well as other countries such as Sweden and France who have “taken steps to pause” the procedures carried out on minors.
The Biden administration in June reversed their stance on supporting youth surgeries, as Assistant Secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services Rachel Levine received backlash after pressuring the World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH) to eliminate age restrictions on the procedures and hormone treatments for minors.
In addition to signing the two bills, Sununu vetoed HB 396, which would have allowed businesses and other government organizations to discriminate on the basis of biological sex within bathrooms, locker rooms, sporting events, and other areas such as jails, prisons, mental health hospitals and treatment facilities.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Flickr/DHS Photo by Zachary Hupp)
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