New Hampshire Lawmakers Pass Bill Banning Transgender Care For Minors
The measure includes a "grandfather clause" that would allow youths who are already receiving care to continue to get it. Meanwhile, hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to children might be on the cusp of losing federal funds.
The Hill:
NH Passes Bill Banning Trans Care For Minors
New Hampshire lawmakers on Thursday gave final approval to bills that would ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors in the state, sending the measures to Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte, who has not yet said whether she will sign them. State lawmakers voted to pass House Bill 377, which would prohibit doctors from administering puberty blockers and hormones to transgender youth beginning next year. The measure includes a “grandfather clause” that would allow minors already receiving care to continue doing so even after the law takes effect. (Migdon, 6/27)
The Wall Street Journal:
Trump Administration Weighs Cutting Off Funding For Hospitals That Offer Gender Treatments For Minors
The Trump administration is weighing cutting off funds to hospitals that it says provide gender-related treatments for children and teenagers, a move that would sharply escalate officials’ scrutiny of such programs. The potential for increased federal scrutiny on gender-related healthcare comes after a 30-day deadline passed Saturday for nine children’s hospitals to respond to letters from Mehmet Oz, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator and celebrity physician known as Dr. Oz. The former heart surgeon and television host demanded data related to sex-reassignment surgeries, hormone therapy and puberty blockers. (Essley Whyte, 6/30)
Reproductive health care news from Illinois and Texas —
Chicago Tribune:
Evanston To Protect Privacy Of Abortion, Gender-Care Patients By Limiting License Plate Reader Tech
In response to reports of Texas officials using Mount Prospect’s automatic license plate reading (ALPR) technology to track a woman who traveled to Illinois for an abortion, Evanston officials passed an ordinance that would limit data sharing in similar cases to protect the privacy of individuals seeking sensitive healthcare procedures. (Requena, 6/27)
The Texas Tribune:
Texas Murder Case Raises Questions About Fetal Personhood
A North Texas man charged with capital murder this month after he allegedly slipped his girlfriend abortion-inducing medication and caused a miscarriage marks the first time a murder charge has been brought in an abortion-related case in Texas. The case tests a new method for reining in abortion pills — by threatening to prosecute individuals who provide them with the most severe criminal charge — while advancing the longstanding legal provision that defines an embryo as a person, legal experts say. The latter could raise serious implications about the legality of fertility treatments and in other legal realms such as criminal and immigration issues. (Yu and Betts, 6/30)
More health news from across the U.S. —
Central Florida Public Media:
Florida Is The First State To Require That High School Student-Athletes Get Life-Saving EKGs
A new Florida law taking effect Tuesday will mandate that all high school student-athletes take an electrocardiogram (EKG) before they can compete on school sports teams. The Second Chance Act is the first of its kind – Florida is the first and only state to require high school student-athletes to get at least one EKG. (Prieur, 6/29)
AP:
California Legislature Approves Budget And Cuts Immigrant Health Access
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed on Friday a budget that pares back a number of progressive priorities, including a landmark health care expansion for low-income adult immigrants without legal status, to close a $12 billion deficit. It’s the third year in a row the nation’s most populous state has been forced to slash funding or stop some of the programs championed by Democratic leaders. Lawmakers passed the budget earlier in the day following an agreement of a $321 billion spending plan between Newsom and Democratic leaders. But the whole budget will be void if lawmakers don’t send him legislation to make it easier to build housing by Monday. (Nguyễn, 6/28)
AP:
Arizona Governor Caps Off Quarrelsome Legislative Session With Budget Approval
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs signed on Friday a bipartisan budget that boosts pay for first responders and increases spending on social services, capping a quarrelsome session of the Republican-led Legislature that brought the state to the brink of a government shutdown. (Govindarao, 6/28)
ProPublica:
A Doctor Challenged the Opinion of a Powerful Child Abuse Specialist. Then He Lost His Job.
A Minneapolis pediatrician said he felt pressured to “fall in line” with child abuse specialist Dr. Nancy Harper and her team. Then he was given a choice: resign or be fired. (Lussenhop, 6/30)
