On April 17, I testified to the NH Senate HHS Committee in favor of Rep. Jim Kofalt’s bill HB1660 which would ban using Medicaid to pay for gender reassignment surgery for kids. Rep. Kofalt and I were the only two to testify in favor of the bill. Not forcing taxpayers to fund irreversible surgeries for gender-confused kids is the least the NH legislature can do to protect children.
Here is my testimony.
I am a grandmother from Nashua and I am testifying in support of HB1660 to help protect gender-confused teens from irreversible gender reassignment surgery.
I support this bill because as it says in HB619, “Adolescent genital gender reassignment surgery generally lacks both adequate information for informed consent and involves a high risk of coercion for parental consent when parents believe that they are faced with a choice between their child committing suicide or consenting to their child’s genital gender reassignment surgeries.”
It’s natural for teenagers to want to individuate and make a new path separate from their families and they want to stand out from their peers. Those of us who are neurodiverse have a much tougher time. We have trouble fitting in. We are painfully aware that we aren’t living up to our potential. We are bullied and we are excluded from so much. The LGBTQ groups invite neurodiverse kids in and love-bomb them and make them feel special. Identifying as transgender helps them explain why they are struggling.
Before their parents realize what is happening, their child is asking for medical transition and threatening to commit suicide if the parents don’t allow it. Parents feel backed into a corner. They don’t want to lose their child so under great duress they may agree to hormones and surgery.
We know so many parents and kids that have gone through this and in hindsight they realize it was the wrong decision. New Hampshire taxpayers should not be paying for these irreversible procedures. We should be doing everything we can to prevent it and help gender-confused kids and teens get the care they need for their mental health without medical transition.
Please vote OTP on HB1660 to protect gender-confused kids.
After I testified, Sen. Kevin Avard asked about the bullying I had received from the Trans Rights Activists in the NH State House. Sen. Becky Whitley asked what I thought of reports that bills like this are correlated with increased hate crimes in other states.
Watch my testimony and my exchange with Senators Avard and Whitley.
“Parents feel backed into a corner. They don’t want to lose their child, so under great duress they agree to hormones and surgery.” @BethRS62 testifies for SB1660, which would ban using Medicaid for pediatric sex trait modification surgery. #NHPolitics pic.twitter.com/W94tQbEKuV
— Sidewalk Steve (@Sidewalk_Steve) April 17, 2024
Linds Jakow of 603 Equality, who identifies as “non-binary,” testified that she was glad she had her breasts amputated in her 20s.
“As a young teen, I watched these mini-documentaries where trans men got top surgery, and felt extremely jealous.” Child transing lobbyist Linds Jakows testifies against HB1660, which would ban using Medicaid for gender reassignment surgeries for minors. #NHPolitics pic.twitter.com/XFV8ERf68F
— Sidewalk Steve (@Sidewalk_Steve) April 18, 2024
Dartmouth Health had an unexpected response to the bill.
Undramatic testimony. Last year @DartmouthHealth claimed that child-transing laws would cause suicides. This year media relations head Courtney Tanner is concerned about hypospadias repair. Why tone it down? The lawsuit? The Cass Review? HB1660 would stop Medicaid from paying… pic.twitter.com/X32R3tF7Kd
— Sidewalk Steve (@Sidewalk_Steve) April 19, 2024
The Senate HHS Committee is still accepting testimony on HB1660. Email your testimony in support of the bill to Regina.Birdsell@leg.state.nh.us, Kevin.Avard@leg.state.nh.us, Jeb.Bradley@leg.state.nh.us, Becky.Whitley@leg.state.nh.us, Suzanne.Prentiss@leg.state.nh.us, cameron.lapine@leg.state.nh.us
