Bill allowing Maine to seize children from parents opposed to gender transition dies
A bill that would have given the state of Maine authority to seize a child from their parents if the child expressed confusion about their sex and wanted body disfiguring trans procedures was killed by lawmakers.
The Maine Legislature’s Standing Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing last week discussing LD 1735, also known as “An Act to Safeguard Gender-Affirming Health Care.”
In a 12-0 vote last Thursday, members of the committee voted in favor of a motion declaring that the legislation “ought not to pass.” The committee, which includes three members of the state Senate and nine members of the state House of Representatives, consists of seven Democrats and five Republicans.
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Introduced by State Rep. Laurie Osher, D-Orono, the measure declares: “A law enforcement agency may not knowingly make or participate in the arrest or participate in any extradition of an individual pursuant to an out-of-state arrest warrant for violation of another state’s law against providing, receiving or allowing a child to receive gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care in this State, if that care is lawful under the laws of this State, to the fullest extent permitted by federal law.”
The legislation defined “gender-affirming health care” as “medically necessary health care that respects the gender identity of the patient,” including “interventions to suppress the development of endogenous secondary sex characteristics,” “interventions to align the patient’s appearance or physical body with the patient’s gender identity” and “other interventions to alleviate symptoms of clinically significant distress resulting from gender dysphoria.”
In addition to prohibiting law enforcement from cooperating with other states seeking to enforce bans on the body-mutilating procedures, the measure would have granted a state court “emergency jurisdiction” over a child if he or she has “been unable to obtain [so-called] gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care.”
The proposed legislation also included a section allowing the state to seize a child from his or her parents for the purpose of “obtaining gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care for the child.”
The introduction of the proposed law comes as over 20 states have enacted bans on some or all forms of trans procedures performed on children, including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and sex-change surgeries, including castration and double mastectomies.
In contrast, 14 states have either adopted "shield" laws or implemented executive orders that allow for such body-deforming procedures to be performed on children who exhibit confusion about their sex.
Liberty Counsel founder and Chairman Mat Staver, whose organization describes itself as a “Christian ministry that proclaims, advocates, supports, advances, and defends the good news that God in the person of Jesus paid the penalty for our sins and offers forgiveness and eternal life to all who accept him as Lord and Savior,” cheered the defeat of LD 1735 in a statement on Friday.
“This reprehensible medical mutilation trafficking bill attempted to legalize kidnapping in Maine to subject minors to damaging and often irreversible procedures,” he said. “There is no sane logic in the world that could justify trafficking gender-confused children. The unanimous vote killing this bill sends a clear message that parents have the fundamental right to protect their children.”
The American College of Pediatricians has warned that puberty blockers, frequently prescribed to youth suffering from gender dysphoria, can cause “osteoporosis, mood disorders, seizures, cognitive impairment and, when combined with cross-sex hormones, sterility.”
Other side effects include “an increased risk of heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, blood clots and cancers.”
Jamie Reed, a former employee at a pediatric gender clinic at Washington University in St. Louis, wrote an op-ed for The Free Press last year detailing how a 17-year-old girl who was prescribed testosterone suffered severe vaginal bleeding that “soaked through an extra heavy pad, her jeans, and a towel she had wrapped around her waist.”
Another patient treated at the same gender clinic who was prescribed testosterone developed an “enlarged clitoris” that “extended below her vulva” and “chafed and rubbed painfully in her jeans.”
However, other prominent medical professional groups, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, have expressed support for "gender-affirming care" and has expressed opposition to "any laws or regulations that discriminate against transgender and gender-diverse individuals, or that interfere in the doctor-patient relationship."
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: [email protected]
