On Thursday, New Hampshire lawmakers approved a bill that bans gender-affirming care for transgender minors, moving it forward to Governor Kelly Ayotte for her decision.
The legislation, known as House Bill 377, includes a provision allowing minors currently receiving care to continue their treatments despite the law’s implementation.
After a significant vote in the Capitol, with two Democrats and Republicans Dale Girard and Jonah Wheeler backing it, the bill passed 202-161. The New Hampshire Senate also approved it along party lines, with a vote of 16-8.
In addition to this, lawmakers sent House Bill 712 to Ayotte. This measure draws on existing laws that limit minors’ access to certain medical procedures, specifically barring those under 18 from surgical options related to gender dysphoria, including surgeries typically associated with transgender individuals.
On the same day, the House voted 191-163 in favor of this bill, with Wheeler again lending support alongside his Republican colleagues. The state Senate maintained party line voting as well.
If signed into law, these bills would position New Hampshire as the first state in the Northeast to implement such restrictions, following a recent Supreme Court decision that upheld Tennessee’s law against transitional care for minors, which stopped trans youth from accessing puberty blockers and hormones—though surgical options weren’t included in that ruling.
Republican Assemblyman Lisa Mazur, a key supporter of both bills, cited the court’s decision in her arguments for the legislation on Thursday.
“It is legal and constitutional for the state to regulate or prohibit minors from using these harmful drugs,” she commented, according to reports from the Boston Globe.
Governor Ayotte, a former U.S. Senator who took office in November, has not revealed her intentions regarding the bill, which is a significant agenda item for the state’s Republican-dominated legislature.
Another bill, House Bill 148, aimed at rolling back anti-discrimination protections established in 2018, is also heading for Ayotte’s review.
