Bill restricting gender-affirming care on minors introduced in Maryland House

ANNAPOLIS – A bill to restrict access to gender and sex transitioning for minors drew a crowd for a House committee hearing Wednesday.

House Bill 722 would require parental consent for many sex and gender medical or surgical procedures on 16 and 17-year-olds.

"People can still get this if their parents want them to, but the families who don't know about it, their children should not be going through this," bill sponsor Del. Lauren Arikan, R-District 7, said. "We are still learning what happens to children when we put them cross-sex hormones."

Opponents of the bill say there are already ethical principles surrounding this care among providers.

"It is disturbing to see a bill pop up that's specifically targeting this community," Lee Binder of Trans Maryland said. "This bill fear-mongers."

Fifteen Republicans and three Democrats in Maryland's House of Delegates are listed as co-sponsors for the bill. The bill applies to 16 and 17-year-olds as children under 16 cannot consent to medications.

Lisa Geraghty testified her daughter was transitioning socially and she feared her daughter would seek medical care without her consent.

"I'm still scared she lives in a state that will do this to my child without my consent," Geraghty said.

The Human Rights Campaign calls gender-affirming care "life-saving healthcare" and writes on its website there should be "significant consideration and consultation between the youth, their families, and their health care providers."