Idaho Republican Gov. Brad Little signed a bill into law prohibiting Medicaid and state employee health plans from covering the cost of gender-affirming medications and procedures for low-income transgender adults and minors.
House Bill 668 declares that public funds “shall not reimburse or provide coverage for any surgical operation or medical intervention…for purposes of altering the appearance of an individual in order to affirm the individual’s perception of the individual’s sex in a way that is inconsistent with the individual’s biological sex.”
The bill contains exemptions for certain types of surgical operations or medical interventions, such as those deemed medically necessary; those meant to force intersex people or those with “a medically verifiable genetic disorder of sex development” to conform to binary bodily stereotypes; and those used to help a person “de-transition” or to treat an “infection, injury, disease or disorder that has been caused or exacerbated by” gender-affirming surgery.
It also declares that any transition-related procedures performed to alter a person’s appearance to align with their gender identity, rather than their assigned sex at birth, does not qualify as “medically necessary.”
Because the bill prohibits “public funds,” state employees, like teachers or government workers, are barred from using their employer-sponsored health plan to cover the cost of gender-affirming treatments for themselves or their dependents, reports the Idaho Capital Sun.
The measure’s backers argue that it is necessary to prevent taxpayer dollars from being wasted on efforts to affirm a person’s gender identity.
A sponsor of a nearly identical measure argued that the bill does not completely ban transgender people from obtaining coverage for medical procedures or medications — just as long as those aren’t related to their transition.
“While I have great compassion for those who struggle with these issues [of gender dysphoria], I also understand that the idea of actually creating the function of the opposite sex is a scientific impossibility,” State Rep. Julianne Young (R-Blackfoot), the sponsor of the similar-in-scope House Bill 520 said during debate.
House Bill 668 ultimately passed the Idaho House of Representatives by a 58-11 vote, and the Idaho Senate by a 26-8 vote. If no legal challenge is mounted against the law, it will take effect on July 1.
The Czech Constitutional Court struck down a legal requirement for transgender people to undergo gender confirmation surgery before having their identities legally recognized.
Under the current law, transgender individuals have to undergo genital surgery and be sterilized by having the testes or ovaries removed, leaving trans people unable to reproduce, before officially completing their transition.
The advocacy organization Human Rights Watch has argued for years that surgical and sterilization requirements are violations of fundamental human rights.
Ohio Republican Attorney General Dave Yost is appealing a judge's decision to block the state from enforcing its ban on gender-affirming care for minors and a ban prohibiting transgender athletes from competing on female-designated sports teams.
Yost filed an emergency motion with the Ohio Supreme Court asking it to overturn a temporary restraining order issued by Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Holbrook, which blocked the law's provisions from taking effect for two weeks.
Holbrook, a Republican appointee, found that two transgender minors and their parents, who sued to challenge the law in court last month, were likely to suffer "immediate" harm, in the form of reduced access to health care providers willing to treat their gender dysphoria, if the law -- which imposes penalties on doctors who prescribe gender-affirming treatments -- were to take effect.
On Tuesday, April 16, a federal appeals court voted to block a West Virginia law banning transgender student-athletes from competing on teams that align with their gender identity.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the ban, which was signed into law by Republican Gov. Jim Justice in April 2021, violates the rights of transgender students under Title IX, the federal statute that prohibits sex-based discrimination.
The law was challenged by a slew of civil rights and LGBTQ organizations on behalf of B.P.J., a 13-year-old transgender girl and middle school track and cross-country athlete who wishes to compete as a girl.
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