Good Bill
Sponsor: Rep. Scott Bottoms (R-Colorado Springs)
The bill prohibits healthcare providers from performing gender transition procedures on persons under 18. Prohibited procedures include puberty-blocking drugs, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries for purposes of transitioning gender. Medical professionals who violate face professional discipline through licensing boards.
The legislation defines “gender transition procedures” and specifies exceptions for treatment of medically verifiable disorders of sex development, treatment of physical injuries or disorders, and procedures performed on persons born with ambiguous genitalia. The bill does not apply to mental health counseling or therapy.
Studies from Sweden’s National Board of Health and Welfare (2022) and the United Kingdom’s Cass Review (2024) found insufficient evidence for prescribing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to minors. Finland’s Council for Choices in Health Care (COHERE) issued similar findings in 2020. These European health authorities reversed prior policies favoring pediatric gender transition.
Questions raised include whether the prohibition infringes on parental medical decision-making rights under Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57 (2000), how medical professionals distinguish between prohibited transition procedures and permitted treatment of sex development disorders, and whether long-term follow-up studies exist showing outcomes for minors who receive gender transition procedures.
House Health and Human Services will hear the bill Wednesday, February 18. Representative Bottoms chairs House Judiciary Committee.
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