Legislation in New Hampshire Bans Gender Surgery on Minors and Restricts Boys from Girls' Sports

In a significant move to protect children and maintain fairness in sports, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu signed two pivotal bills on Friday. These laws ban genital gender surgeries on minors and prohibit trans-identifying boys from competing in girls' sports.

Governor Sununu emphasized the importance of safeguarding the health and safety of New Hampshire’s youth. “This bill focuses on protecting the health and safety of New Hampshire’s children and has earned bipartisan support,” Sununu stated.

• The new legislation prohibits doctors from performing surgeries like phalloplasty and vaginoplasty on minors. It also threatens disciplinary action against those referring children for such procedures elsewhere.

• Notably, the bill does not address other surgeries like double mastectomies for trans-identifying teens or the use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, which remain legal despite their risks.

This move aligns New Hampshire with at least 25 other states that have enacted similar bans or restrictions. However, in states like Florida, Ohio, and Montana, these laws are currently contested in court.

In a concurrent decision, Sununu also signed a bill banning biological boys from participating in girls' sports across public and private schools from kindergarten through college. This comes amid rising concerns about the impact of trans-identifying males in female sports:

• Female athletes have reported losing opportunities and scholarships due to competing against biological males.

• Instances of physical injury have also been documented, such as the severe head trauma suffered by a high school volleyball player in North Carolina last year.

Additionally, Sununu signed a third bill allowing parents to opt their children out of public school lessons on “sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or gender expression.” This measure responds to heightened parental concerns about educational content following the pandemic, mirroring similar legislation in other states like Florida.

Despite these actions, Sununu vetoed a bill that would have allowed businesses and government entities to segregate facilities by sex, citing the absence of such issues in New Hampshire and the potential for unnecessary conflict.

Republicans lauded the governor's decisions, with state Representative Joe Sweeney of Salem remarking, “These bills are pragmatic and reasonable and I applaud the governor for signing them into law.”

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