House Judiciary hears bill to criminalize certain gender‑affirming care for minors; clinicians and civil‑rights groups urge no

Sen. John Fuller, R‑Kalispell, opened a House Judiciary hearing on Senate Bill 164, proposing to amend Montanacode section on endangering the welfare of children to criminalize providing or procuring certain medical treatments for people under 16. Fuller told the committee the bill targets “chemically or surgically mutilating” children and said the change fits within the legislatureconstitutional authority.

The committee heard about two hours of testimony. Proponents including Derek A. Streicher, chief legal counsel for the Montana Family Foundation, and Jamie Reid, a self‑described former pediatric gender‑care worker and whistleblower, urged the committee to pass the bill to prevent what they characterized as harmful, irreversible interventions and to provide legal accountability for clinicians. Streicher said the bill would bar surgeries, puberty blockers and cross‑sex hormones for minors and cited recent retrospective studies for support; Reid described patient cases she said illustrated harms.

Opponents — spanning clinicians, civil‑liberties groups and parents — urged the committee to reject the bill. Dr. Anna Louise Peterson, a licensed clinical professional counselor who works primarily with transgender and nonbinary clients, said the statute would cause immediate harm by deterring clinicians and terrifying families; she described a clinical appointment where a family was told providers might face arrest if the law passed. Khadija Davis of the ACLU of Montana said the bill would likely violate privacy and parental‑autonomy protections in the Montana Constitution. Quinn Leighton of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana and Dr. Lauren Wilson, representing the Montana chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said major medical societies support access to gender‑affirming care and warned the bill is poorly written and could sweep in care for intersex and other medically indicated conditions.

Committee members pressed witnesses on technical details of the proposed statutory language, asking whether the bill would sweep in non‑gender medical uses of the same drugs (for example, treatment of precocious puberty or endocrine disorders). Wilson and child‑welfare representatives said many of the medications and procedures named in testimony also have legitimate uses, and that the bill as drafted lacks clear carve‑outs for those cases. Fuller responded that prosecutions would require proof of an improper motive and that prosecutorial discretion would limit abusive enforcement.

Medical witnesses warned of collateral effects on the health workforce. Wilson said some specialists have left Montana after prior legislation, and other clinicians testified that fear of felony penalties could force providers to leave the state or stop offering a wide range of pediatric endocrine and surgical care, not only gender‑related services.

The hearing closed with Fuller reserving the right to close and urging a due pass. The committee did not take a vote at the hearing.

What comes next: The committee may consider amendments to clarify medical exceptions, intersex protections and prosecutorial standards before any committee vote.