FEBRUARY 13, 2023:
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has signed HB 1080 into law. The bill prohibits medical providers from giving gender-affirming health care procedures and medications to transgender youth living in the state.
In signing the bill Noem says, “South Dakota’s kids are our future. With this legislation, we are protecting kids from harmful, permanent medical procedures. I will always stand up for the next generation of South Dakotans.”
Meanwhile,
“Today is a heartbreaking and tragic day for trans South Dakotans and their families. This ban won’t stop South Dakotans from being trans, but it will deny them critical support that helps struggling transgender youth grow up to become thriving transgender adults,” said Samantha Chapman, ACLU of South Dakota advocacy manager. “But make no mistake – this fight is not over. We will never stop fighting for the right of trans youth to the love, support and care that every young person deserves. As much as Gov. Noem wants to force these young people to live a lie, we know they are strong enough to live their truth, and we will always fight for communities and policies that protect their freedom to do so.”
South Dakota is the fourth state in the country and the second state this legislative session to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth after Utah passed a similar ban last month (Jan. 2023). Similar laws in Alabama and Arkansas are currently enjoined by federal courts.
FEBRUARY 9, 2023, UPDATE:
South Dakota state senators have passed HB 1080–a bill that would allow the government to stop medical providers from giving gender-affirming health care procedures and medications to transgender youth living in the state. The vote was along party lines, 30-4. The bill now moves to Gov. Kristi Noem’s desk for her signature.
Samantha Chapman, ACLU of South Dakota advocacy manager, says HB 1080 is a “devastating and dangerous violation of the rights and privacy of transgender South Dakotans, their families and their medical providers. Medical decisions belong to patients (and their parents) and their doctors – not the government. The only controversy in providing life-saving gender-affirming care for transgender youth in South Dakota is the one fabricated by legislators who want to see this harmful bill become law.”
Laws similar to House Bill 1080 that passed in Arkansas and Alabama are currently enjoined by federal courts.
FEBRUARY 9, 2023:
South Dakota state senators are scheduled to discuss a proposed law– HB1080— that would allow the government to stop medical providers from giving gender-affirming health care procedures and medications to transgender youth living in the state.
South Dakota Urban Indian Health, the ACLU of South Dakota and the Transformation Project Advocacy Network are all against the bill.
Urban Indian Health CEO Michaela Seiber says, “Care of patients in any space should be private and only shared between themselves and their provider. Legislation such as this continues to force families to choose whether or not to live in a state that truly does not see their value.”
ACLU of South Dakota advocacy manager Samantha Chapman says despite strong opposition, “some of our lawmakers seem determined to move ahead with this shameful effort to prevent parents and kids from deciding the best course of treatment for themselves.”
Transformation Project Advocacy Network executive director Susan Williams says the parents of a transgender youth “should have the ability to get their child the medical care they need. This decision should rest with parents and doctors— not politicians.”
LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit advocates and allies are holding demonstrations protesting the legislation Saturday in Brookings, Sioux Falls, Vermillion and Rapid City. The marches are being organized by Transformation Project Advocacy Network by Sioux Falls Pride, Black Hills Center for Equality, SD Youth Activism, Brookings Pride, Brookings PFLAG, Quilting Allies, Equality South Dakota as well as other organizations throughout the state.
Republican Rep. Bethany Soye of Sioux Falls is the prime sponsor of the bill that has now passed through three legislative committee hearings. She told one of them yesterday (Feb. 8, 2023), “All that we are asking for here is a little more time to make a permanent life decision.”
South Dakota medical providers said the state lacks the medical expertise to provide gender affirming care to minors as is, but questioned the validity of testimony’s scientific data. They said they were out of touch with today’s gender affirming care practices.
Dr. Daniel Heinemann testified, “It’s disappointing that they didn’t listen to reasonable medical opinions and that they continue to push to intrude into the patient-physician relationship and take away rights of the parents of their child.”
Laws similar to House Bill 1080 that passed in Arkansas and Alabama are currently enjoined by federal courts.
FEBRUARY 8, 2023:
Extended version:
FEBRUARY 3, 2023:
(SOUTH DAKOTA BROADCASTERS ASSOCIATION)– After an emotional and sometimes angry debate yesterday (Feb. 2, 2023), the South Dakota House of Representatives passed a measure that would prevent various medical treatments of minors who wish to undergo gender reassignment. The vote was 60 to 70.
After the bill sponsor, Republican Rep. Bethany Soye from Sioux Falls, said some procedures were castration and mutilation, Democratic Rep. Linda Duba from Sioux Falls angrily replied. “It is not mutilation and castration,” Duba said. “I am tired of hearing this on the floor of the House.”
Proponents of the bill said it was necessary to prevent what they say are irreversible and dangerous aftereffects of gender-changing operations and drugs.
One proponent, Republican Rep. Brandei Schaefbauer from Aberdeen, quoted a speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. supporting HB 1080. That drew a strong rebuke from Democratic Rep. Kameron Nelson from Sioux Falls, the first openly LGBTQ+ person to serve in the state legislature. “Today, we’ve heard some very gross comments from members of this body,” Nelson said. “To use his (King’s) words is reprehensible.”
“This is true health and healing,” Soye said. “It is to help, not harm,” a reference to what supporters say the bill does.
The measure now moves to a Senate committee.
Meanwhile two groups opposed to the proposed law say,
The Transformation Project Advocacy Network believes bills like HB1080 only harm transgender kids and their families, and bills like these reflect a very frightening trend happening all over the country and right here in our state. The ACLU of South Dakota also opposes House Bill 1080. The groups say medical decisions belong to trans youth, their parents and their doctors – not the government – and it is unconstitutional to single out one group of people and categorically ban all care.
Susan Williams, Executive Director of Transformation Project Advocacy Network, says “We’re getting calls from panicked parents terrified for their child’s wellbeing; parents wondering if they will need to move their families out of state We are on the verge of a crisis and we are asking every South Dakotan who knows this legislation has potentially deadly consequences to get active in fighting this bill now.”
“House Bill 1080 flies in the face of common decency, basic human rights and the advice of every major medical association – not to mention federal law,” said Samantha Chapman, ACLU of South Dakota advocacy manager. “This bill not only represents vast government overreach that undermines the fundamental rights of parents, but also it’s dangerous. Transgender youth and their families should not be used as target practice to advance political careers. These families are our friends and neighbors, and they deserve better than this.”
“Do you know what it’s like to be a transgender teen and hear lawmakers talk about you like you are a lesser person? How they use incorrect terms, triggering and outdated descriptions, and blatant fear mongering verbiage to describe your journey? As a parent, have you ever had to hold your crying child, because uninformed, discriminatory, sensationalist lawmakers talk about your child as if they are an abhorrent science experiment,” asks Elizabeth Broekemeier, parent of a trans teen in SD. “Lawmakers have no right to interfere with the medical decisions a parent makes with their child’s medical team. This bill is at its very core, unconstitutional.”
JANUARY 31, 2023:
A South Dakota House committee this morning (Jan. 31, 2023) passes a bill restricting medical procedures that would change the gender of a minor.
HB 1080 passed 11 to 2 on a party-line vote.
Bill sponsor, Republican Rep. Fred Deutsch from Florence, said the standard of care is changing worldwide regarding minors and gender reassignment. He also said parents need to protect their children.
The measure now goes to the House.
Meanwhile,
The ACLU of South Dakota opposes HB 1080. Medical decisions should be made between patients (and their parents) and their doctors – not politicians. By blocking medical care supported by every major medical association, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association, the legislature is compromising the health of trans youth in dangerous and potentially life-threatening ways.
“If House Bill 1080 passes, the state will be interfering in the relationship between doctors and their patients,” said Samantha Chapman, ACLU of South Dakota advocacy manager. “Like all health care, health care for transgender youth is individualized and based on the needs of each particular person. This bill would take away private health care choices around the provision of medical care consistent with prevailing medical and scientific standards, and will result in devastating impacts to the mental health of transgender South Dakotans. Medical professionals, not politicians, should decide what medical care is in the best interest of a patient.”
The Transformation Project Advocacy Network also opposes the bill. They believe legislation like HB1080 “only harm transgender kids and their families, and bills like these reflect a very frightening trend happening all over the country and right here in our state. Transgender youth deserve the same chance to thrive as their peers, and legislators are working to take that away. Families with trans kids in our state trust medical experts when it comes to big medical decisions, and lawmakers should not be interfering in the doctor/patient relationships.”
“It’s a shame and a disappointment that our elected officials think they know better than parents who consult with expert South Dakota doctors when it comes to the best physical and mental wellness for our children,” said Susan Williams, Executive Director of Transformation Project Advocacy Network. “While the House just voted to invest in the mental health of our youth last week (HCR 6008), today the committee voted to penalize physicians for advising care proven to drastically improve the mental health of transgender youth.”
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