Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
LGBTQ+ Youth Conversion Therapy Set To Be Banned In Utah, Minnesota
The Hill: Utah Senate Votes To Ban Conversion Therapy From Health Care Providers
The Utah Senate on Friday unanimously approved legislation to ban certain health care providers from practicing conversion therapy on minors, moving the legislature closer to codifying rules set by the state government in 2020. (Migdon, 2/17)
Minnesota Public Radio: Minnesota House Votes To Ban LGBTQ Youth Conversion Therapy
The Minnesota House of Representatives passed a bill Monday with bipartisan support that bans what’s called conversion therapy for LGBTQ youth and “vulnerable adults.” After hours of at times emotional debate, the DFL-led chamber voted 81-47 to prohibit mental health professionals from providing therapy aimed at changing a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. (Ferguson, 2/20)
Meanwhile, in moves against trans health care —
Wyoming Public Radio: Wyoming House Will Determine The Fate Of Multiple Anti-LGBTQ+ Bills
As the Wyoming Legislature enters its seventh week, four pieces of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation are still in play. They have each cleared the Wyoming Senate and must now pass in the State House of Representatives if they are to become law. Two of these bills seek to outlaw various forms of gender-affirming care. The third is a close copy of Florida's much-discussed "Don't Say Gay" bill and limits what teachers can say in the classroom about gender identity and sexual orientation. (Victor, 2/20)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Health Care Limits For Transgender Youth Approved By Missouri Senate Committee
A Senate committee on Monday approved legislation restricting gender-related health care for minors, moving the plan closer to debate before the entire upper chamber. Passage of the restrictions by the Senate Emerging Issues Committee comes less than a week after the panel held a hearing on the legislation, illustrating the urgency Republicans have placed on the issue since the release of a report earlier this month alleging irreparable harm to vulnerable patients at a St. Louis transgender center for youth patients. (Suntrup, 2/20)
AP: North Dakota Moves To Curb Trans Identity In Data, Minors
The North Dakota House passed gender-related bills Friday that would omit transgender identity from state data collection and criminalize health care providers who give gender-affirming care to minors. The bills still need to go through the Senate and governor to become law. (Ahmed, 2/17)
Separately, on developments relating to abortion, reproductive rights —
AP: Montana Lawmaker: There's A Religious Right To Abortion
In Montana, a state lawmaker who is an ordained Jewish rabbi argues religious freedom laws that protect health care workers’ religious beliefs should also protect abortion rights for those who belong to religions that support such rights. “It seems that both sides should be permitted to have equal protections for their religious conscience,” said Rep. Ed Stafman, a Democrat. (Beth Hanson, 2/18)
AP: White House Criticizes Youngkin Over Menstrual Tracking Bill
The White House rebuked Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin this week for supporting state lawmakers’ rejection of a bill that that would have prohibited police from issuing search warrants for digitized data about women’s menstrual cycles. (2/18)
The Colorado Sun: Colorado Democrats In Congress Urge Catholic Hospital In Durango To Reverse Policy Banning Tubal Ligations
All five of Colorado’s Democratic U.S. representatives are condemning a decision by Mercy Hospital in Durango to stop allowing women to get their tubes tied, issuing a joint statement Thursday urging the Catholic hospital to reconsider. (Brown, 2/16)
