(C) Daily Montanan This story was originally published by Daily Montanan and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Gianforte asks legislature to 'strengthen' bill banning gender-affirming care before signing it – Daily Montanan [1] ['Blair Miller', 'More From Author', '- April'] Date: 2023-04-17 Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte on Monday recommended amendments be made to Senate Bill 99, the legislature’s proposed ban on gender-affirming care for minors, calling the term “Orwellian Newspeak” and asking lawmakers to “strengthen” the bill by tweaking certain language around the definitions of “male” and “female.” “I share your profound commitment to protect Montana children from invasive medical treatments that can permanently alter their healthy, developing bodies, and I appreciate the Legislature’s effort to that end with Senate Bill 99, the Youth Health Protection Act,” Gianforte wrote in his veto letter requesting amendments. In his letter to the Republican Senate president and House speaker, the Republican governor says that he has met with transgender children and adults and understands their struggles. “I firmly believe that, as with all of God’s children, Montanans who struggle with their gender identity deserve love, compassion and respect,” he wrote in the letter to the legislative leaders. He further claims that SB99 does not prohibit “thoughtful, noninvasive care as a response to those who struggle with gender identity;” “social affirmation;” or “providing or accessing psychotherapy to treat young Montanans struggling with their gender identity.” He wrote that rather, it focuses only on “so-called” gender-affirming care. “’Gender affirming care’ for children is Orwellian Newspeak, a seemingly innocuous, even solicitous phrase that masks its true nature of permanent, invasive, life-altering medical and surgical procedures, performed on children whose young minds and bodies are still developing,” Gianforte wrote to the Republican House Speaker Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, and Senate President Jason Ellsworth, R-Hamilton. Gianforte wrote he believes the bill will protect Montana children from what he calls the “evolving science” around gender-affirming care, that he supports the legislature’s intent, and that he believes the bill “is incomplete and can be strengthened.” He told the legislative leadership that the current definitions of “male” and “female” in the bill does not contemplate treatments for children born with a “medically verifiable disorder of sex development” like being intersex, undergoing menopause or having cancer that required the removal of a person’s reproductive organs. Further, he said the bill is unclear about restrictions for public funding of gender-affirming care. Gianforte’s proposed amendments include clarifying that “female” means a person with XX chromosomes who produces eggs, who would otherwise fall under that definition except for a biological or genetic condition. The proposed amendment would also clarify that “male” means someone who has XY chromosomes and would produce sperm, adding similar language about otherwise falling under the definition of a male if they have a biological or genetic definition. It further clarifies under the definition of “gender” that “an individual’s gender may or may not align with the individual’s sex.” The proposed amendment also adds language under the definition of “social transitioning” to say it involves treatments for “the purpose of” the minor presenting as the opposite sex,” and refers to gender-affirming care as a “medical treatment” rather than a “procedure.” “This ensures that the exceptions to the prohibitions apply with equal force to public funding and removes vagueness from the law as to its meaning and scope,” Gianforte wrote to the Republican legislative leaders. Senate Republicans spokesperson Kyle Schmauch said Monday afternoon that Sen. John Fuller, R-Kalispell, the bill’s sponsor, approves of Gianforte’s proposed amendments. Schmauch said the floor votes on whether to accept the governor’s amendments would likely happen Tuesday. Both chambers will have to vote to pass the proposed amendments in order for the bill to be signed into law. Along with banning gender-affirming care, Fuller’s Senate Bill 99 subjects physicians who provide gender-affirming care to discipline including the potential loss or suspension of their license, allows the attorney general to seek actions against providers, and allows a person who “suffers an injury” from gender-affirming care to bring civil claims against providers up to four years after they discover the injury. The Montana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics said Gianforte’s letter “perpetuates misleading and inaccurate information about gender affirming care that runs counter to the consensus among medical and scientific professionals” and include inaccurate definitions of “male and female.” “MTAAP has heard from many families who are worried about losing access to critical healthcare as a result of our state’s legislation of medical care,” the chapter said in a statement. “Pediatricians will continue to advocate for LGBTQ+ patients and all the patients in our care. To all transgender and gender-diverse youth in Montana: you are seen, you are loved, and you belong in Montana.” Keegan Medrano, the public policy and advocacy director for the ACLU of Montana, said they felt the veto letter said more than the amendments on where the governor and his office stood on the issue and that he believed the legislature would adhere to the requested amendments. The ACLU of Montana, along with the national ACLU and Lambda Legal, have pledged to take the bill to court if it is signed by the governor. Medrano said the organizations would “respond accordingly” should the legislature approve the amendments and Gianforte sign the measure into law. Hillary-Anne Crosby, a spokesperson for the Montana Sexual and Reproductive Health Collective, said the organization would continue advocating for transgender youth and their families regardless of what the legislature and governor decide. “There is not an amendment that could fix Senate Bill 99. Gov. Gianforte’s amendment only doubles down on a bill attacking Montana’s amazing trans youth when what they deserve is access to medically accurate information and the full breadth of safe, legal health care options,” Crosby said in a statement. “No person’s body should be policed and young people must be supported in deciding what gender-affirming care is right for them with their medical providers and families. Throughout the 2023 session, transgender children and their parents, transgender adults, and many in the medical community have testified in opposition to the bill, saying it would not only harm transgender youth and increase suicidal ideation among them, it was also a violation of their constitutional right to privacy. The measure passed the Senate on March 29 in a 32-17 vote, with Sen. Wendy McKamey, R-Great Falls, the lone vote against it. In its final House vote, two Republicans – Reps. Greg Frazer, R-Deer Lodge, and Tom Welch, R-Dillon – voted against the measure. 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