The bill would prohibit doctors from prescribing best-practice, gender-affirming medical care to transgender and nonbinary youth.
March 4, 2022 — The Trevor Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and mental health organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people, condemned the passage of HB 675 by the Idaho House State Affairs Committee, which would make the provision of best-practice, gender-affirming care to transgender and nonbinary youth a felony.
“Amid a wave of dangerous bills targeting transgender youth, this bill is among the most dangerous – forcing doctors to choose between providing best-practice care to their patients and facing felony charges,” said Sam Ames (they/them pronouns), Director of Advocacy and Government Affairs at The Trevor Project. “This bill is at odds with the professional guidance of every major medical and mental health association in the country. Our research shows that access to gender-affirming care is strongly associated with lower risk of depression and suicide among trans and nonbinary youth who seek it. We urge Idaho lawmakers to support this group of already marginalized young people by increasing access to care that can save lives — not throwing doctors in prison for providing it.”
A 2021 peer-reviewed study by The Trevor Project, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, found that access to gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) is significantly related to lower rates of depression, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts among transgender and nonbinary youth. Specifically for young people under age 18, receiving GAHT was associated with nearly 40% lower odds of recent depression and of a past-year suicide attempt.
The Trevor Project’s 2021 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health found that more than half (52%) of transgender and nonbinary youth seriously considered suicide in the past year, and 1 in 5 attempted suicide. Further, a recent poll conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of The Trevor Project, found that 85% of transgender and nonbinary youth — and two-thirds of all LGBTQ youth (66%) — say recent debates about state laws restricting the rights of transgender people have negatively impacted their mental health. When asked about proposed legislation that would ban doctors from prescribing gender-affirming medical care like puberty blockers or hormone therapy, 73% of transgender and nonbinary youth said it made them feel angry, 57% felt sad, 47% felt stressed, 40% felt scared, and more than 1 in 3 felt hopeless, helpless, and/or nervous.
If you or someone you know needs help or support, The Trevor Project’s trained crisis counselors are available 24/7 at 1-866-488-7386, via chat at TheTrevorProject.org/Get-Help, or by texting START to 678678.
About The Trevor Project
The Trevor Project is the world’s largest suicide prevention and mental health organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people. The Trevor Project offers a suite of 24/7 crisis intervention and suicide prevention programs, including TrevorLifeline, TrevorText, and TrevorChat as well as the world’s largest safe space social networking site for LGBTQ youth, TrevorSpace. Trevor also operates an education program with resources for youth-serving adults and organizations, an advocacy department fighting for pro-LGBTQ legislation and against anti-LGBTQ rhetoric/policy positions, and a research team to discover the most effective means to help young LGBTQ people in crisis and end suicide.
