The bill, which would revise the state’s Child Protection Act was approved by all House Republicans but one. The bill was opposed by all Democrats and is being labeled “anti-trans” by house Democrats, including District 26’s Rep. Ned Burns, D-Bellevue.

“It outlaws surgery on teens, which doesn’t happen anyway in the state of Idaho,” Burns said. “But there was a potential ban on puberty blockers, which are used in conjunction with therapists, endocrinologists and family doctors as children navigate these life decisions. I think to outlaw them without taking into account the 30 to 50 years of well-documented science is harmful.”

District 26’s Rep. Jack Nelsen, R-Jerome, joined all but one of his fellow Republicans in voting in favor of the bill. Nelsen said that despite his vote in favor of the bill, there are still parts of the proposed legislation that he is not comfortable with.

“To me, this came down to something that we already aren’t doing anyway before kids are 18,” Nelsen said. “The hardest part for me was the puberty blockers — I like staying out of people’s doctor’s office however this is not the case. However, I have to agree with Ned [Burns] that this sends quite a negative message. I voted for it, but it wasn’t an easy one for me. And, as for hormone blockers, I think we may be back readdressing that sometime. The whole process could go a little bit better, I think.”

Burns agreed with Nelsen that the legislature will certainly revisit the issue of hormone blockers, but he said the the issue will likely be sent to the Idaho Supreme Court to be settled, “and the Idaho taxpayer will have to pay for it. I can guarantee that there will be a lawsuit,” he added.

As the bill sits currently, the title was approved to the Senate, where it was referred to committee for a hearing. District 26 Sen. Ron Taylor agreed with his Democratic colleagues in the House, and said he would vote “no” should the bill reach the Senate floor.

“We are placing ourselves in people’s doctors’ offices,” he said. “Currently in Idaho, gender surgery, or what is defined in the legislation as ‘genital mutilation,’ does not happen prior to 18 years or older and does not occur without a lot of therapy, discussion and information. Puberty blockers aren’t just handed out like candy — they go through all possible forms of interventions before they get to that. Unfortunately, there is an incredibly strong push in the Capitol to make this pass.

“When that makes it to the Senate, it will be interesting to see if it gets out of a committee and onto the floor,” Taylor said. “I will be voting “no”. I think that this decision is best left to a family, their physician and their therapist. Government doesn’t need to be in your doctor’s office.”

H.B. 71 was filed for the first reading in the Senate on Feb. 15, and was assigned to the Judiciairy and Rules committee for review before it reaches the floor. As of Feb. 20, it has not been confirmed whether the bill will reach the Senate floor for a vote.