Seventeen Republican legislators in the Montana state House helped defeat a bill that would have charged adults with “endangering child welfare” if they obtained gender-affirming medical care — including puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy — for any child under the age of 16. The Republicans joined with Democrats to defeat the bill in a 58-40 vote even though the state’s Republican-led Senate had already approved its own version. The legislature will soon consider other bans on gender-affirming care, despite this one’s defeat.

The bill, S.B. 164, would have punished any adult who “knowingly procures or provides” such care with fines of up to $10,000 and imprisonment of up to five years. The bill would’ve applied to any adult in the state — even if they obtained gender-affirming care for their kids outside of Montana — including out-of-state tourists, medical workers, and employees of organizations and websites that help trans patients obtain care.

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Such a charge also could’ve laid the legal groundwork to separate the child from their parent as a danger to their child’s well-being. Gender-affirming medical care is considered the safest, essential, and best care for trans kids by most major U.S. medical associations.

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During debate on Tuesday, nonbinary state Rep. SJ Howell noted that the bill didn’t contain exceptions for intersex people born with genetic “abnormalities,” according to trans journalist Erin Reed. As a result, the bill would’ve forbidden an intersex boy born with cancerous ovaries from having the ovaries removed, essentially condemning him to die.

“We have a lot of tools at our disposal as the legislature to regulate healthcare, but [these] criminal charges are not the appropriate tool,” Howell said during their speech, according to Reed. “This bill has a lot of concern for me about parental rights. At the end of the day, there are a lot of parents of trans kids that are just doing what they believe is best for their kids. This criminalizes those parents.”

Republican state Rep. Brad Barker also spoke during the House floor debate, announcing his opposition to “gender transition to youth” but adding, “There are two other bills that deal with this issue… [I] will be a no on this bill — it’s the wrong approach.”

The state’s only out trans legislator, Rep. Zooey Zephyr, also voted against the bill.

“The tide is changing in Montana!” Zephyr wrote on Bluesky, celebrating the bill’s defeat. She noted that earlier this week, Republicans joined Democrats to defeat a “forced outing” bill. “That’s 2/2 in defeating anti trans bills this week!”

The bill to which Zephyr referred (H.B. 8) would’ve required schools to notify parents of any student requests to be recognized as a gender that doesn’t align with the gender they were assigned at birth. 

Montana is still considering numerous anti-LGBTQ+ bills, including H.B. 471, which would require schools to notify parents about any classes on LGBTQ+ issues; H.B. 655, which would forbid governments from punishing religious child foster care agencies or providers that discriminate against LGBTQ+ people; and S.B. 437, which would eliminate any government recognition of trans and nonbinary gender identities in Montana.

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