NC Family Staff | June 28, 2023 | SHARE: 
UPDATE: On June 28th, the State House approved the Committee Substitute and passed House Bill 808 a second time with a vote of 67-46. It will now proceed to Governor Roy Cooper to sign, but he will likely veto it, and it will return to General Assembly for an override vote.
Last night, the State Senate passed HB 808—Gender Transition/Minors by a vote of 29-16, with all Republicans voting for and all present Democrats voting against the bill. House Bill 808 would prohibit medical professionals from performing surgical procedures or administering puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones to minors. The bill now returns to the House for a concurrence vote on changes made by the Senate. Once the bill passes the General Assembly it will proceed to Governor Roy Cooper, who is expected to veto the bill. If the bill is vetoed, it will return to the General Assembly for an override vote.
House Bill 808 would make it “unlawful for a medical professional to perform a surgical gender transition procedure on a minor or to prescribe, provide, or dispense puberty-blocking drugs or cross-sex hormones to a minor,” with limited exceptions. The bill would also provide conscience protection for medical professionals and institutions, so they could not be forced to perform these procedures or prescribe, provide, or dispense these chemicals.
A violation of the law would subject a physician to potential license revocation and/or civil penalties “for any physical, psychological, emotional, or physiological harms the minor suffers as a result of the surgical gender transition procedure, puberty-blocking drugs, or cross-sex hormones.” According to the bill, a minor or the minor’s parent could bring a civil action against a physician or the physician’s employer up to 25 years after the minor turns 18 or “four years from the time of discovery by the injured party of both the injury and the causal relationship between the treatment and the injury against the offending medical professional or entity,” whichever is later.
While testifying in favor of HB 808, NC Family Counsel Jere Royall shared, “Children with gender dysphoria certainly need our compassion and understanding and help. Medical evidence however does not support today’s protocols for so-called treatments for gender confused youth.” He quoted The American College of Pediatricians statement that “There is not a single long-term study to demonstrate the safety or efficacy” of these chemicals or surgeries.
He added, “The procedures currently being used, including experimental puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones and surgeries to remove healthy body parts come with a myriad of negative side effects which can include irreversible body changes, sterility, and mental illness. Sadly, these outcomes are often permanent.”
You can learn more about the medical dangers of transgender procedures here.
