MT bill to criminalize providing some health care treatments to trans kids clears Senate

A bill that would make it a crime for adults to help transgender youth access certain medical treatments cleared the Montana Senate on Tuesday with the support of all but two Republicans.

Senate Bill 164, sponsored by Sen. John Fuller, R-Kalispell, would make it a felony under Montana’s child endangerment laws for parents, physicians or others who allow minors under age 16 to obtain puberty blockers, hormone therapy or surgical treatments for the purpose of transitioning from their sex assigned at birth.

It passed the upper chamber on a 30-20 vote over opposition from Senate Democrats and a long list of trans rights advocates, lobbyists for medical associations and health care providers who cautioned that making gender-affirming care health care inaccessible to trans minors would cause them great mental and physical harm.

“This is not something I would be doing for my children,” said Sen. Wendy McKamey, R-Great Falls, during the floor debate on Monday. “But it is something that someone else is trying; they’re trying to find answers for their children.”

McKamey and Sen. Russ Tempel, R-Chester, voted against SB 164.

People with gender dysphoria experience clinically diagnosable distress because their sex assigned at birth does not align with their gender identity. Symptoms include severe anxiety or depression and even suicidality.

Medical guidelines for treating trans youth recommend puberty blockers not be used until early puberty, followed by hormone replacement therapy in a person’s late teens and surgical procedures even later, usually after an individual reaches the age of 17.

None of those treatments would be administered without extensive screening, multiple physicians told members of the Senate Judiciary committee in January.

Fuller, who also sponsored the 2023 ban on gender-affirming care that sparked protests and has since been temporarily stalled by the courts, said the bill does nothing to compromise access to psychological care for those who need it.

“Gender dysphoria is real,” Fuller said during the Senate floor debate on Feb. 4. “Children that suffer from this are real, and they need to be taken care of with care and compassion.”

Critics countered that even with its scope, SB 164 would deter physicians from practicing in Montana out of fear they could be caught in the crosshairs of criminal prosecution. Anyone found guilty of child endangerment in Montana — which would include people who help trans minors access these treatments under the bill — could face up to five years in prison, a fine of $10,000 or both.

“I think we all realize that we can’t dissuade physicians from practicing in the state,” said Senate Minority Leader Pat Flowers, D-Bozeman. “We need more physicians than we have now.”

SB 164 is by no means the Montana Legislature’s first foray into curbing the rights of transgender people. But the debate on the Senate floor focused less on this pattern — which includes at least three other bills this session — and more on the rights of parents.

Sen. Theresa Manzella, R-Hamilton, said the state has a compelling interest in protecting children from making decisions with irreversible consequences by holding their parents accountable. Parents would be subject to an investigation the same way they would for any other child welfare proceeding with the state.

Across the aisle, Sen. Cora Neumann, D-Bozeman, classified parents’ ability to raise children as they see fit as “among the most private and sacred freedoms that we have.” She said SB 164 would undermine that right and criminalize parents doing what they see as being best for their families.

Now that the bill has passed the Senate, it moves over to the House for a committee hearing.