THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

In a statement, the Republicans said they oppose gender-reassignment surgery for minors but that the bill interferes with a parent's right to make medical decisions for their own children.

The bill, H.B. 675, passed the state House on a nearly party-line vote last week. It would have added language barring anyone from providing transgender youth medication meant to block or delay the onset of puberty or gender-affirming surgery to a provision already on the books that banned female genital mutilation.

In a statement Windy City Times received, Human Rights Campaign state legislative director and senior counsel Cathryn Oakley said, "We are pleased that President Pro Tempore Winder and Majority Leader Anthon have decided not to pursue this vicious, unnecessary legislation a single step further.

"This legislation is a mean-spirited attack on transgender children, contrary to what medical experts advise, and an unprecedented government intrusion in the lives of Idahoans. The decision not to advance it is a welcome source of relief for parents across Idaho. It should also serve as a wake-up call to other states considering such legislation that this is not, and should not, be the government's role to decide what best-practice healthcare should be available to youth."