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Hearing on extending statute of limitations for minors' gender-care lawsuits draws personal testimony
Summary
Representative Robert Wherry and multiple witnesses asked to extend the civil statute of limitations from two to ten years for people alleging harm from gender-transition treatments given as minors; testimony included personal stories from detransitioners and legal arguments about delayed recognition of harm.
Representative Robert Wherry opened testimony on HB 13-56, which would extend the civil statute of limitations for private causes of action alleging unlawful provision of medical procedures or treatments to minors intended to alter sex characteristics from two years to ten years.
Wherry said the extension would give people who received irreversible medical interventions as minors more time to recognize harms and seek redress. "An extension to 10 years gives them a far greater time opportunity to recognize the harm and to respond," Wherry said.
Multiple witnesses, including detransitioners, shared personal accounts. Claire Abernathy, who described herself as a detransitioner, said she began testosterone one week after her 14th birthday and later identified harms including permanent voice changes and other physical effects. She and others argued harms often become apparent only years later and concluded the present two-year window can block legal remedies.
Proponents urged that extending the limitations period would allow those who were minors when treated to bring claims after they reach adulthood and after longer-term consequences become evident. Supporters also said medical professionals and parents must be held to standards of informed consent and thorough psychological evaluation.
Opponents or questioning committee members expressed concern about statutory measures that could expose providers to liability years after treatment and asked whether the bill appropriately balances accountability against medical practice standards and family decision-making.
The committee closed testimony for HB 13-56 without voting; the record includes multiple written submissions and oral statements from both proponents and opponents.
