Prop 5 would provide constitutional ‘cover’ for bill kicking parents out of the village, advocacy group says
By Guy Page
Opponents of a bill preventing parents from stopping a doctor giving hormone blockers and other gender-changing drugs to their children are being publicly criticized by Vermont ice cream manufacturer Ben & Jerry’s.
Ben & Jerry’s took out a full page ad in the May 25 Seven Days to criticize “social media attacks on legislators over a transgender rights bill.”
The ad appears on Page 2, directly inside the front cover. It doesn’t specify which “transgender rights bill” is causing legislators to undergo social media attacks – but it’s likely referring to H659, a Progressive-led bill that would allow a minor to receive medical treatment for transgender conversion without parental consent.
Every bill in the Vermont Legislature has a succinct Statement of Purpose. The Statement of Purpose for H659 “proposes to allow a minor who identifies as transgender to consent to receiving hormone blockers and other nonsurgical, gender-affirming care and treatment without requiring parental consent.”
The bill cites information from the Trevor Project that 42% of LGBTQ youth considered suicide in 2021, and that transgender conversion therapy reduced the likelihood of teen suicide.
The bill contains no age restrictions. “Consent under this section shall not be subject to disaffirmance due to minority of the individual providing consent. The consent of the individual’s parent or guardian shall not be necessary to authorize the minor’s access to legally authorized nonsurgical, gender-affirming care or treatment,” the bill says.
H659 was introduced January 18, 2022 and referred to the House Committee on Health Care – where it stayed. But that could change next year, if the bill is re-introduced. The Health Care Committee will have a new chair. Longtime Chair Rep. Bill Lippert is among the almost 50 lawmakers retiring this year.
The bill did indeed face pushback on social media, including in the comments section on Vermont Daily Chronicle. As sometimes occurs when a bill is deemed too far-reaching even for the current Democratic/Progressive majority, the bill was backburnered, and a face-saving, non-binding resolution was passed instead: JRS 53 affirms that the “General Assembly shall explore all available options to ensure that transgender youth and their families are safe in Vermont to make the best medical care decisions for themselves in consultation with their health care providers.”
Vermont Daily Chronicle earlier this month asked a spokesperson for Sen. Becca Balint (a supporter of the resolution) if “letting youth and their families make the best medical decisions for themselves” meant that parents could overrule a child desiring the gender-changing therapy. No – that language refers only to parents in other who want the therapy for their children but face opposition from state law and regulations, the spokesperson said.
Bills like H659 will be easier to pass and harder to challenge in court if Prop 5, the ‘reproductive autonomy’ constitutional amendment, is ratified by voters in November, the Vermont Family Alliance says.
The Vermont Family Alliance is educating the public about H659, Prop 5, and other legislation in which “parents are being kicked out of the village” – to quote a headline from their recent flyer. For more information find them on Facebook or email vermontfamilyalliance@gmail.com.