New Hampshire protects children from transgender interventions

Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte on Friday signed two laws that will protect children in New Hampshire from surgeries and medications prescribed to treat gender dysphoria. One law prohibits doctors in the state from prescribing puberty blockers and hormones to minors, while the other bars physicians from performing transgender surgeries on anyone under the age of 18. Both laws were due to take effect in January. Medical decisions made at a young age carry lifelong consequences, Ayotte said in a released statement. The new laws build on a 2024 law protecting minors from genital reassignment surgeries.

How many other states have similar laws? More than half of all states in the country have laws protecting children from transgender medical interventions, according to the Human Rights Campaign. New Hampshire is the first Northeastern state to enshrine the protections into law. In June the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a law in Tennessee protecting minors from the procedures.

Dig deeper: Read Juliana Chan Erikson’s report about what comes after the Supreme Court ruling this summer.