Despite pushback from in-state doctors, House passes total ban on gender-affirming care for minors

The House of Delegates on Wednesday passed a total ban on gender-affirming care for minors. The bill is an effort to close a narrow loophole in current state law that allows children with gender dysphoria who are at risk of harming themselves to access medical care.

The vote, which came on the last day for the House to sign off on originating bills, followed a letter from more than 500 West Virginia medical professionals who condemned the bill. 

House Democrats, who unanimously opposed the measure, argued that lawmakers should side with medical professionals. A total ban on gender-affirming care would lead to an increase in youth suicide and confusion among medical proviers about what kind of care they could provide to children struggling with gender dysphoria, they said.

“All of these medications have been used on children longer than I’ve been alive and they’re reversible,” said Del. Kayla Young, D-Kanawha. “This bill restricts gender-affirming care. This care can be lifesaving for kids.”

While current state law nearly bans any gender-affirming care for youth, last year lawmakers voted to allow children who were diagnosed with severe gender dysphoria by two medical providers to access pubertal modulating and hormonal therapy. 

House Bill 5297 would remove that exemption. It passed through the House with an 88-11 vote. It will head to the Senate for consideration. 

Del. Diana Winzenreid, R-Ohio, was the sole Republican to vote against the measure.

During bill debate, Del. Amy Summers, R-Taylor, said the measure wouldn’t have a reaching impact on medical care currently provided to children, including those in danger of self-harm, because doctors could still prescribe talk therapy and lower levels of hormones and puberty blockers.

“What has been expressed to me by physicians is [children] are receiving lower doses of hormones, and that tends to help with their anxiety and depression. But, it does not transition those individuals,” Summers said.

“… We are just saying children can’t have irreversible surgery or take medications that transition them before adulthood,” she added.

Several Democrats pushed back on her position, saying that taking the exemption out of state code would certainly impact the level of care provided.

Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, proposed an amendment that could have allowed doctors to continue prescribing gender-affirming medications to children who were in danger of self-harm. 

According to the Trevor Project, a nonprofit organization focused on suicide prevention for LGBTQ youth, more than 50% of LGBTQ kids in West Virginia seriously considered suicide in 2021. About 14% of those kids attempted suicide. 

“This adds one extremely narrow exception if the child is diagnosed as suicidal. I think at the very least we should make this very narrow exception,” he said before the House Republican super-majority rejected his amendment. 

Earlier on Wednesday, the House signed off on a bill dubbed a “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” which codified, among several things, parents’ ability to make medical decisions for their children. 

Del. Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia, told lawmakers that he felt the total ban on gender-affirming care contradicted the Parents’ Bill of Rights. 

“It’s a very narrow circumstance where parents can work with their medical providers and children in order to allow this type of therapy, this bill is removing a parent’s right to make health care decisions for their child,” he said. 

Hansen continued, “I highly value the opinions of doctors who are providing care to children who are dealing with very difficult situations. They’re making a valiant effort to keep our kids alive … We should not be substituting this [legislative] body for medical professionals who are working in our communities to keep our kids safe.”

Fairness West Virginia, an LGBTQ civil rights nonprofit, said in an email that Wednesday’s vote stripped parents of their ability to get the medically-necessary, lifesaving care. 

“Without access to this care, some transgender adolescents will be lost to suicide,” said Isabella Cortez, Gender Policy Manager for Fairness West Virginia. “That’s not an exaggeration. Senators put a very narrow exception into the law they passed last year, and they did it to save lives. There is no gray area here, it’s completely black and white. If this bill is signed into law, this care will not be available — period.”