Hearings Today: NH Follows Up Its 2024 Genital Surgery Ban
Two New Bills in House Health Committee at 9:30am and 1pm
Two bills aimed at restricting “gender-affirming care” for minors, House Bill 377 (HB377) and House Bill 712 (HB712), head to public hearings today before the New Hampshire House Health, Human Services, and Elderly Affairs Committee. Building on last year’s ban on genital surgeries, these measures target puberty blockers, hormones, and breast surgeries—sparking a renewed clash over child safety and medical evidence as the state legislature reconvenes.
HB377, titled “relative to health care professionals administering hormone treatments and puberty blockers,” seeks to bar these interventions for those under 18. Backers, including prime sponsor Rep. Glenn Cordelli (R-Carroll 7) and co-sponsor Rep. Chris Ager, argue they’re experimental and lacking in long-term studies to prove safety or efficacy for kids with gender dysphoria. Puberty blockers carry risks like bone density loss and brain development concerns, while cross-sex hormones trigger irreversible changes like infertility—risks supporters say kids can’t fully comprehend. Pointing to Sweden’s 2021 rollback of similar care, Ager has called it “protection from unproven risks.” Introduced January 9 and referred to the Health Committee, it’s slated for a Monday, March 3, hearing at 9:30 a.m. in the Legislative Office Building (LOB) 205-207 at 33 North State Street, Concord, NH.
HB712, “limiting breast reduction and reconstruction surgery for minors,” targets mastectomies for gender dysphoria. Sponsored by Rep. Terry Roy (R-Rockingham 31) and others, it’s framed as a shield against experimental, permanent procedures with little data on outcomes or regret rates in kids. Critics of such surgeries question minors’ decision-making capacity, building on HB619’s genital surgery ban, signed by ex-Governor Chris Sununu and effective January 1. Also introduced January 9 and sent to the Health Committee, HB712’s hearing is set for March 3 at 1:00 p.m. in the same room.
Last year’s HB619 fight offers a preview. A brutal March 2023 hearing saw over 2,000 online testimonies and five hours of debate, initially stalling a broad ban including puberty blockers, mastectomies and genital surgeries, as well as restrictions on school curriculum, boys in girls’ sports and keeping social transition a secret from parents. Revised to target only genital surgeries, it passed January 4, 2024 (199-175), with 12 Democrats, including Rep. Jonah Wheeler, joining. Wheeler saying—“"Despite the fact that I am a liberal, despite the fact that I believe in nondiscrimination for trans people, for gay people, for queer people and that I will fight until my very last day until they are recognized as human beings, the question before us is whether or not children under the age of 18 should be able to get these surgeries. And I, despite being a liberal who believes in those human rights, do not think that is the case…kids getting surgery is a bridge too far.”—swayed some, who saw it as creating a “less bad” bill given the surgeries’ rarity. The Senate (13-10) and Sununu agreed, calling it “bipartisan protection” for kids against experimental treatments.
Today, HB377 and HB712 face a GOP-heavy legislature: 221-177 in the House, 16-8 in the Senate. Passage requires 201 House votes—easy with party-line support—and 13 Senate votes, tight but doable if unified, per HB619’s path. Governor Kelly Ayotte, a conservative sworn in January 9, hasn’t signaled her stance, but her lean suggests she’d sign bills protecting kids from risky procedures—unlike Sununu’s mixed record. A veto would need 267 House votes (46 more than the GOP’s 221) and 16 Senate votes (no dissent allowed), potentially requiring Democratic support beyond what HB619 needed for its initial passage.
The Health Committee, tilting 11-9 Republican, will hear testimony Monday, with votes looming fast. Critics may decry medical overreach, but supporters, buoyed by X posts like @Sidewalk_Steve’s “with a little push, these will become law,” lean on harms and lack of evidence for these procedures. The outcome hinges on GOP cohesion and, if necessary, whether Democrats might again bend to lend their support.
Jamie Reed will testify.
Thanks to Jamie and all here at the Courage Coalition, as always, for your incredibly hard and good work. I hope the legislature does the right thing. Now, as for Wheeler, while I am of course glad he voted FOR a no-brainer bill to ban genital surgery on minors, let’s take a look at the hoops he felt he had to go through in defense of this common sense vote: “Despite the fact that I am a liberal [he should do this precisely because he is a liberal], despite the fact that I believe in nondiscrimination for trans people [there is no inconsistency between voting against bodily harm for sex-confused minors and believing in non discrimination for trans-identified people], for gay people, for queer people [who does he think is in this category, I wonder] and that I will fight until my very last day until they are recognized as human beings [as a lesbian, let me just say that I am a human being, I don’t need anyone’s help to be recognized as such, and neither does any other human being]. I very much look forward to the day when no one thinks they have to dump out a bucketload of absurd caveats to “justify” doing the obvious right thing.