Debate gets personal, as Idaho House passes trans youth medical care bill

Two Idaho legislators on Tuesday described how they felt upon learning that a family member was transgender. Their surprise and confusion gave way to acceptance and empathy, they said, as they came to understand what it meant for their loved one to identify as a gender that differed from the sex they were assigned at birth. But when it came time to vote on a bill to make medical care for gender dysphoria in youth a felony, they came down on opposite sides — with one legislator voting with the House Republican majority to ban trans care for Idaho minors, including hormone therapy, “puberty blocker” medications and surgeries.