Ban on gender-affirming care for youth signed into law in North Dakota

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) has signed a bill banning gender-affirming care for minors in the state and establishing a penalty of up to 10 years in prison for providers who perform reassignment surgery on youth. 

Burgum’s signature on the bill makes North Dakota one of more than a dozen states to enact a law restricting or banning gender-affirming care for minors, according to the nonprofit think tank Movement Advancement Project (MAP). He signed the bill after it passed with veto-proof majorities in the state House in February and state Senate earlier this month. 

Burgum said in a statement that the law is designed to protect children from the “life-altering ramifications of gender reassignment surgeries.” 

He noted that the law allows exceptions for instances where a parent or guardian consents for a minor to receive medical treatment for what the law calls a “medically verifiable genetic disorder of sex development,” which includes if “biological sex characteristics” are “irresolvably ambiguous.” 

The law also includes an exception for gender-affirming care that a minor began receiving before the law was enacted. 

Burgum also acknowledged in his statement that medical professionals have testified that the surgeries have not been and are not being performed in the state. 

“Going forward, thoughtful debate around these complex medical policies should demonstrate compassion and understanding for all North Dakota youth and their families,” Burgum said. 

The law will allow prosecutors to charge a health care provider with a felony for performing reassignment surgery on a minor, in which they could face a decade in prison and a fine up to $20,000. Providers can also be charged with a misdemeanor, for which they could face up to 360 days in prison and $3,000 in fines, for giving patients gender-affirming medication like puberty blockers. 

Burgum also signed a bill earlier this month that banned transgender girls and women from competing in women’s sports in K-12 schools and colleges in the state.

MAP reported Thursday that with North Dakota’s ban in place, 16 states prohibit some form of medical care for transgender youth, meaning one out of five live in a state with a prohibition in place. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

— Updated at 2:59 p.m.