Gianforte signs bill banning gender-affirming care for minors in Montana

Montana – A modified version of Senate Bill 99, which prohibits some forms of gender-affirming medical treatment for children under the age of 18, was signed into law by Governor Greg Gianforte on Friday.

The law, which takes effect on October 1, prohibits hormone therapies, including puberty blockers and hormone boosters, as well as surgeries for minors who want to undergo a medical transition to a gender identification other than the sex they were assigned at birth. Healthcare professionals who break the law risk legal repercussions as well as penalties including a year-long suspension of their license to practice medicine.

The GOP-controlled Legislature had earlier this month given the bill to the Republican governor, who had requested revisions before he would sign. Since he had interacted with transgender people, he stated that he thought they deserved “love, compassion, and respect.”

He specifically requested that lawmakers amend the bill’s definition of male and female as well as language to include minors with disorders such as an abnormality of sex development. The revisions were approved by lawmakers.

Democrats denounced the bill, claiming that it infringes on the rights of both parents and children.

“SB 99 eliminates the rights of health care providers, the rights of parents, and the rights of children. I’m deeply disappointed in the Governor for signing this bill into law and prioritizing poisonous political rhetoric over Montanans’ fundamental liberties. But I want Montana’s transgender, nonbinary, and Two-Spirit youth and their families to know – you belong here, and no single law will ever stop Montana Democrats from fighting for your right to live your lives in freedom,” House Minority Leader Kim Abbott of Helena said in a statement.

A significant flashpoint during the session was the bill. The state’s first transgender representative, Rep. Zooey Zephyr of Missoula, said those who voted in favor of it would have “blood on their hands” because she believed it would increase the number of suicides in the transgender community.

As a result, Zephyr was refused a call by House Speaker Matt Regier, a Republican from Kalispell, for about a week until she offered an apology. Seven people were detained after she refused, sparking protests from the House gallery during a session earlier this week.

Then, on Wednesday, Zephyr was barred from voting in person in the House by House Republicans, who have a supermajority.