GOP bill would ban gender-affirming care for minors in Wisconsin

Republican lawmakers have reintroduced legislation banning gender-affirming care for Wisconsin minors. 

State Sen. Cory Tomczyk, R-Mosinee, and State Rep. Scott Allen, R-Waukesha, say the “Help Not Harm Act” will protect minors from “making life-altering, irreversible decisions that cause mental and bodily harm.”

“Children who struggle with gender identity deserve help, not harm,” Allen said. “There are too many studies that show the harm of these procedures, and there are too many stories of young people regretting their transition later. We need to help minors by giving them the inherent blessing of time.”

The proposal has already received backlash from the Wisconsin Legislative LGBTQ+ Caucus and the Transgender Parent and Non-Binary Advocacy Caucus and nonprofit groups who say medical decisions should be made by parents and health care providers, not politicians. 

The bill prohibits health care providers from engaging in, causing the engagement in, or making referrals for certain medical intervention practices for a patient under the age of 18 for the purpose of changing the person’s body to a sex that is different than what they were assigned at birth.

The bill would prohibit puberty suppressants, cross-sex hormones and gender transition surgery for minors struggling with gender dysphoria. It does not address those 18 or older.

The proposal also requires the Board of Nursing, the Medical Examining Board and the Physician Assistant Affiliated Credentialing Board to investigate any allegations that a licensed health care provider provided banned care and revoke that person’s license or certificate if they violated the provisions in the bill. 

“Our children are not experiments,” Tomczyk said. “Parents should not be scared or pressured into having their children receive non-medically necessary drugs or irreversible procedures before their brains are fully developed.”

Gov. Tony Evers has vetoed similar legislation in the past, and will likely do so again. But Allen said he’s hopeful the Democratic governor will change his mind. 

“He’s always been an advocate of using the science and evidence, I would hope he’s come around,” Allen said. “When you have countries like the UK and others outright banning the procedures as a whole, we’re not doing this in a vacuum. We’re looking at the science and saying, it’s just not good practice.”

The Wisconsin proposal comes as President Donald Trump has issued an executive order to broadly restrict access to gender-affirming health care for transgender young people.

Federal judges in Baltimore and Seattle temporarily blocked the order this month, preventing agencies from withholding funds from medical facilities that provide the care to minors.

Some hospitals, including Children’s Wisconsin, have begun suspending care over threats to their federal funding.

Despite all of the political debate around health care for transgender youth, roughly 0.1 percent U.S. adolescents with commercial insurance received gender-affirming medications, puberty blockers or hormones from 2018-22, according to a study published in January.

Two trans rights groups, Fair Wisconsin and GSAFE, say Republican legislators are attempting to codify misinformation into law with discriminatory bills. 

“Health care for trans youth is health care that is medically-accurate, age-appropriate, high-quality, respectful health care,” said Abigail Swetz, executive director of Fair Wisconsin. “It is gender-affirming, and it is life-affirming for the youth, as well as for the families who love and support these kids and their access to this health care.”