New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu has signed two critically important bills into law protecting the rights of children and women.
Help Not Harm Bill
Gov. Sununu signed a “Help Not Harm” bill into law on July 19, protecting New Hampshire children from harmful and damaging transgender medical interventions.
The Prohibiting Genital Gender Reassignment Surgery on Minors bill (HB 619) prohibits “genital gender reassignment surgery” on minors to make them appear more like the opposite sex. It was approved by the New Hampshire House of Representatives in a 199-175 vote on January 4; the state Senate approved in a 13-10 vote on May 16.
In the text of the bill, the state’s lawmakers lay out several research-based reasons for prohibiting transgender surgeries on minors.
Transgender activists often manipulatively ask parents, whose children are struggling with sexual identity confusion, “Would you rather have an alive son or a dead daughter?” It’s an emotionally abusive question meant to force parents into letting their kids access experimental transgender medical interventions. Otherwise, they might commit suicide, the activists claim.
However, “[an analysis] of published studies between 2015 and 2022 showed no decrease in suicidality after gender affirming surgery,” the text of HB 619 notes, “with some studies showing a significant increase in psychiatric hospitalizations and suicide after surgical transition.”
The bill adds:
- There is a lack of high-quality clinical trials which provide data on outcomes for adolescent genital gender reassignment surgeries or young adult genital gender reassignment surgeries, particularly after pubertal suppression and cross sex hormones.
- Adolescent genital gender reassignment surgery generally lacks both adequate information for informed consent and involves a high risk of coercion for parental consent when parents believe that they are faced with a choice between their child committing suicide or consenting to their child’s genital gender reassignment surgeries.
The bill is a great step forward for the Granite State and will protect children from harmful and damaging transgender surgeries.
“HB 619 ensures that life altering, irreversible surgeries will not be performed on children,” Governor Sununu said in a statement after signing the bill, adding,
This bill focuses on protecting the health and safety of New Hampshire’s children and has earned bipartisan support. There is a reason that countries across the world – from Sweden to Norway, France, and the United Kingdom – have taken steps to pause these procedures and policies. Even the Biden Administration opposes these youth surgeries, citing the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Save Women’s Sports Bill
On the same day, Gov. Sununu signed a Save Women’s Sports bill into law.
The bill (HB 1205) stipulates that any interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, or club athletic team or sport sponsored by a school must be designated as one of the following based on the participant’s biological sex:
- Males
- Females
- Co-ed
“An athletic team or sport designated for ‘females’, ‘women’, or ‘girls’ shall not be open to students of the male sex where selection for such teams is based upon competitive skill or the activity involved is a contact sport,” the bill states.
Gov. Sununu said in a statement after signing the bill, “HB 1205 ensures fairness and safety in women’s sports by maintaining integrity and competitive balance in athletic competitions. With this widely supported step, New Hampshire joins nearly half of all U.S. States in taking this measure.”
The Save Women’s Sports bill could not have come at a more opportune time. In 2019, New Hampshire athlete CeCe Telfer, who was born male, became the first male to win an NCAA women’s title.
Telfer had competed on the men’s team in 2016 and 2017 at Franklin Pierce University, with little success. After switching to the women’s team, Telfer took first place in the NCAA 400-meter hurdles final in 2019.
We should have compassion for Telfer’s apparent struggles with sexual identity confusion. But we must also be abundantly clear that his decision to compete in the women’s division is unfair and took places, awards, and opportunities for advancement away from real women. And that is a grave injustice.
Thankfully, because of the courage of New Hampshire lawmakers, the state’s children will be protected from harmful transgender surgeries; and the state’s young women will be protected from men looking to compete in their sports.
Please pray that more states will pass laws protecting women and children, and consider getting involved with your state’s family policy council to help serve as a voice for the family and to assist advocates for family ideals.
Focus on the Family exists to help families, and that includes help navigating the issues of homosexuality and transgenderism. Focus offers a free, one-time counseling consultation with a licensed or pastoral counselor. To request a counseling consultation, call 1-855-771-HELP (4357) or fill out our Counseling Consultation Request Form.
Related articles and resources:
Counseling Consultation & Referrals
Addressing Gender Identity with Honesty and Compassion
The Journey Back to My True Identity
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