A bill to protect minors from gender transition procedures was introduced in the South Dakota legislature on Tuesday. South Dakota Representative Bethany Soye (R) and South Dakota Senator Al Novstrup (R) filed H.B. 1080, nicknamed the “Help Not Harm” legislation, along with 23 House cosponsors and six Senate cosponsors. Republicans hold supermajorities in both chambers: 63-7 in the state House and 31-4 in the state Senate.

The “Help Not Harm” bill prohibits the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, or surgery “for the purpose of attempting to alter the appearance of, or to validate a minor’s perception of, the minor’s sex, if that appearance or perception is inconsistent with the minor’s sex.” It instructs licensing boards that if they find that any health care professional has violated this provision, “the board must revoke any professional or occupational license or certificate held by the healthcare professional.” It also creates a private cause of action, whereby the child can recover damages for the malpractice inflicted upon him or her.

“It’s time for us to stop experimenting on kids’ bodies,” said Norman Woods, executive director of the South Dakota-based Family Heritage Alliance. “We have been perpetuating the dangerous lie that through medical intervention, we can change a person’s sex. This harmful idea, and the industry profiting from it, are leaving a trail of broken bodies in their wake.”

Conservative legislators introduced a similar bill in the South Dakota House during the previous legislative session (2020-2021), the Vulnerable Child Protection Act. After sailing through the House (46-23), the Senate Health and Human Services Committee voted it down (5-2). The move bewildered onlookers at the time, but a recent investigation by National Review’s Nate Hochman tracked the bill’s failure back to heavy lobbying by Sanford Health, a health care conglomerate based in Sioux Falls, with 15 hospital locations across the state. “When it failed, that was all Sanford,” lamented State Rep. John Mills (R), a cosponsor on the bill. “That might be explained at least in part by the fact that Sanford sells puberty blockers and performs gender-reassignment surgery,” reported Hochman.

But Soye expressed optimism that this time will be different. “There are just so many more people behind it this time,” she said on “Washington Watch.” She anticipated opposition “from the normal activist groups and then also from the hospital,” but added, “we’re really

A bill to protect minors from gender transition procedures was introduced in the South Dakota legislature on Tuesday. South Dakota Representative Bethany Soye (R) and South Dakota Senator Al Novstrup (R) filed H.B. 1080, tagged as the “Help Not Harm” legislation, along with 23 House cosponsors and six Senate cosponsors. Republicans hold supermajorities in both chambers: 63-7 in the state House and 31-4 in the state Senate.

The “Help Not Harm” bill prohibits the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, or surgery “for the purpose of attempting to alter the appearance of, or to validate a minor’s perception of, the minor’s sex, if that appearance or perception is inconsistent with the minor’s sex.” It instructs licensing boards that if they find that any health care professional has violated this provision, “the board must revoke any professional or occupational license or certificate held by the healthcare professional.” It also creates a private cause of action, whereby the child can recover damages for the malpractice inflicted upon him or her.

“It’s time for us to stop experimenting on kids’ bodies,” said Norman Woods, executive director of the South Dakota-based Family Heritage Alliance. “We have been perpetuating the dangerous lie that through medical intervention, we can change a person’s sex. This harmful idea, and the industry profiting from it, are leaving a trail of broken bodies in their wake.”

Conservative legislators introduced a similar bill in the South Dakota House during the previous legislative session (2020-2021), the Vulnerable Child Protection Act. After sailing through the House (46-23), the Senate Health and Human Services Committee voted it down (5-2). The move bewildered onlookers at the time, but a recent investigation by National Review’s Nate Hochman tracked the bill’s failure back to heavy lobbying by Sanford Health, a health care conglomerate based in Sioux Falls, with 15 hospital locations across the state. “When it failed, that was all Sanford,” lamented State Rep. John Mills (R), a cosponsor on the bill. “That might be explained at least in part by the fact that Sanford sells puberty blockers and performs gender-reassignment surgery,” reported Hochman.

But Soye expressed optimism that this time will be different. “There are just so many more people behind it this time,” she said on “Washington Watch.” She anticipated opposition “from the normal activist groups and then also from the hospital,” but added, “we’re really gaining momentum with House sponsorship and with citizens who are contacting their legislators.”

The “Help Not Harm” legislation already enjoys the support of 24 out of 70 members of the South Dakota House, two-thirds of the way to a majority; a similar bill passed last session with 46 votes. If the bill passes, it will proceed to the 35-member state Senate, where it already has the support of seven members, but where a similar bill failed in committee during the last session. “The problem in South Dakota is usually more on the Senate side,” admitted Soye. If it passes both houses, the bill will head to Governor Kristi Noem (R), who signaled support for the bill on Wednesday despite having close ties to lobbyists for Sanford Health. In 2021, she promised to sign a bill to protect women’s sports before she vetoed the bill later that month.

Soye believes the increased visibility of gender transition procedures on children will help the bill’s chances, too. “The argument was, ‘Oh, it’s not happening in South Dakota.’ But now you really can’t deny [it] because Sanford is just being so up front with what they’re doing.”

Sanford Health is proud to provide gender transition services; it announced that it had “invest[ed]” in attaining “Healthcare Equality Index” (HEI) accreditation, “a national LGBTQ+ benchmarking tool that evaluates health care facilities’ policies and practices related to the equity and inclusion of their LGBTQ+ patients, visitors and employees.” The weekend prior to the bill’s introduction, beginning on January 13, Sanford Health hosted “The Third Annual Midwest Gender Identity Summit.”

Dozens of South Dakotans, who had recently learned about Sanford’s gender transition practices, gathered in the snow outside the Summit to protest. “That really started to build especially the local media momentum,” said Soye. “And we have several groups across the state that are really getting fired up.”

Similar legislation to protect children from gender transition procedures has been introduced this month in both of South Dakota’s North Plains neighbors, North Dakota and Nebraska.

AUTHOR

Joshua Arnold

Joshua Arnold is a staff writer at The Washington Stand.

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