PIERRE, S.D. – The South Dakota House has passed a bill that would ban gender-change treatment — including surgeries, puberty blockers, and hormone therapy — for children under 16.
The measure would make it possible to charge physicians who do so with a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine.
Only a handful of Republicans defected from the majority in the House vote on Wednesday.
The bill moves next to the Senate. Gov. Kristi Noem has said she has concerns about the bill but hasn’t said whether she would veto it.
