Minnesota Passes Bill To Make State 'Trans Refuge' For Kids
If Mom and Dad won't let you chop off your body parts, the government will.
At least, that's the message the Minnesota Democrats are sending to the kids in their state.
Minnesota lawmakers passed a "trans refuge" bill this week. This legislation would make the state a destination for children seeking "gender affirming" medical care but may have been denied such care in other states.
The Minnesota House passed HF 146 in a party-line 68-62 vote. The bill passed in the state's Senate 34-30 Friday night.
The legislation comes just two months after neighboring South Dakota banned puberty blockers, hormone therapy and gender-swapping surgeries for minors.
Representative Leigh Finke — Minnesota's first transgender lawmaker — first introduced the bill. Supporters say it will protect transgender people and doctors from facing legal repercussions for traveling to Minnesota for hormone prescriptions and sex-change procedures.
"Gender-affirming care is life-saving health care," Finke said. "Withholding or delaying gender-affirming care can have a dramatic impact on the mental health of any individual who needs it."
Minnesota Trans Refuge Bill Has Dangerous Implications
Republicans warn the bill is written so that Minnesota parents could lose custody of their children if they refuse to aid in their gender transition.
This is because HF 146 classifies the denial of transgender care as child abuse.
Bob Roby, a family and juvenile law attorney in Minnesota, said the courts don't recognize parental rights if a child is being abused. Even if that "abuse" is simply not letting them take hormones or undergo sex-change surgery.
"The state has immediate authority to remove and protect the child from harm. Without this, there would be no way to protect children in those situations," Roby said "To add children who are being denied 'gender affirming care' to the definition of children in need of this kind of drastic emergency action is obviously unwarranted."
Transgender healthcare for kids has become a hot-button topic in the United States. (Photo by Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
With this legislation, Minnesota follows in the footsteps of a very liberal Colorado. Just last week, Colorado passed a "Trans Tourism" law that allows children to travel there for puberty blockers and sex-change surgeries.
Also last week, Washington State passed legislation that would strip parents' rights to intervene in their kids' "gender affirming" medical care.
Conversely, 15 states — all Republican-led — have enacted law to limit or ban gender transition for minors.