H 71 — VULNERABLE CHILD PROTECTION ACT – Adds to existing law to establish provisions regarding vulnerable child protection.

7171, As Amended in the Senate BY JUDICIARY, RULES AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE AN ACT RELATING TO THE VULNERABLE CHILD PROTECTION ACT;

AMENDING SECTIONCHAPTER 18-1506B,15, TITLE 18, IDAHO CODE, TOBY PROVIDE FOR THE CRIMEADDITION OF GENITALA MUTILATIONNEW INSECTION CERTAIN18-1506C, INSTANCES,IDAHO CODE, TO REMOVEPROVIDE A PROVISIONSHORT REGARDINGTITLE, A PENALTY, TO REMOVEDEFINE ATERMS, PROVISIONTO REGARDINGPROHIBIT THECERTAIN REMOVALPRACTICES OFUPON A CHILDCHILD, FROM THIS STATE, TO REVISEPROVIDE AN EXEMPTION, TO PRO- VIDE CERTAIN EXEMPTIONS, TO REVISEPROVIDE A PENALTY, TO DEFINE A TERM, TO PRO- VIDE SEVERABILITY, AND TO PROVIDE LEGISLATIVESEVERABILITY; INTENT;

AMENDING SECTION 19-5307, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDEPRO- AVIDE CORRECTA CODE REFERENCE;

That SectionChapter 18-1506B,15, Title 18, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby amended by the addition thereto of a NEW SECTION , to be known and des- ignated as Section 18-1506C, Idaho Code, and to read as follows:

18-1506B.18-1506C.

FEMALEVULNERABLE GENITAL MUTILATION OF A CHILD --PROTECTION. EXCLUSIONS -- PENAL- TIES -- DEFINITION.

(1) ExceptThis assection providedshall inbe subsectionknown (4)and (3)may ofbe thiscited section,as whoever knowingly authorizes or commits any procedure that circum- cises, excises, or infibulates the whole"Vulnerable orChild anyProtection partAct." of(2) theAs labiaused majora,in labiathis minora,section: or clitoris of a child shall be guilty of a felony.

(2)(a) Except"Child" asmeans provided in subsection (4) of this section, whoever know- ingly gives permission for, or permits on a child, any actperson prohibitedunder byeighteen sub(18) -years section (1) of thisage; section shall be guilty of a felony.

(3)and Except(b) as"Sex" providedmeans inthe subsectionimmutable (4)biological ofand thisphysiological section,charac- whoeverteristics, know-specifically ingly removes or causes, permits, or facilitates the removalchromosomes ofand ainternal childand fromexternal thisreproductive stateanatomy, forgenetically thedetermined purposeat ofconception facilitatingand anygener- actally prohibitedrecognizable byat subsectionbirth, (1)that ofdefine thisan sectionindividual shallas bemale guiltyor offemale. a felony.

(2)(3) ExceptA as provided in subsection (4) of this section, any medical practitionerprovider whoshall knowinglynot engagesengage in any of the following practicesprac- tices upon a child for the purpose of attempting to alter the appearance of or affirm the child's perception of the child's sex if that perception is inconsistentincon- sistent with the child's biological sexsex: shall be guilty of a felony:

(a) Performing surgeries that sterilize or mutilate, or artificially construct tissue with the appearance of genitalia that differs from the child's biological sex, including castration, vasectomy, hysterechysterec- - tomy, oophorectomy, metoidioplasty, orchiectomy, penectomy, phalphal- - loplasty, clitoroplasty, vaginoplasty, vulvoplasty, ovariectomy, or reconstruction of the fixed part of the urethra with or without metoidmetoid- - ioplasty, phalloplasty, scrotoplasty, or the implantation of erection or testicular prostheses;

(c) Administering or supplying the following medications that induce profound morphologic changes in the genitals of a child or induce trantran- - sient or permanent infertility:

(4) (3) A surgical operation or medical intervention shall not be a vio-viola- lationtion of this section if the operation or intervention is:

(a) Necessary to the health of the person on whom it is performed and is performed by a person licensed in the place of its performance as a med- ical practitioner, except that a medicalsurgical interventionoperation thator resultsmedical ininter- thevention impairment and mutilation of the reproductive organs and parts of a child is never necessary to the health of the child on whom it is perper- - formed if it is for the sole purpose of attempting to alter the appearappearance - ance of or affirm the child's perception of the child's sex if that perperception - ception is inconsistent with the child's biological sexsex; ;

or (b) PerformedFor onthe atreatment personof inany laborinfection, injury, disease, or whodisorder that has justbeen givencaused birthor andexacerbated isby performedthe forperformance medicalof purposesgender connectedtransi- withtion thatprocedures, laborwhether or birthnot by a person licensed in the placeprocedures itwere is performed as a medical practitioner, midwife, or person in trainingaccor- todance becomewith suchstate aand practitionerfederal orlaw; midwife.

(4)or The(c) provisionsPerformed of subsection (2) of this section shall not apply to a person acting in accordance with the good faith medical decision of a parparent - ent or guardian of a child born with a medically verifiable genetic disorder of sex development, including:

(a)(i) A child with external biological sex characteristics that are am-ambiguous biguous and irresolvable, such as a child born having 46, XX chromosomes with virilization, 46, XY chromosomes with undervirilization,undervir- ilization, or with both ovarian and testicular tissue;

(b)or (ii) When a physician has otherwise diagnosed a disorder of sexualsex- de-ual velopmentdevelopment in which the physician has determined through geneticge- netic testing that the child does not have the normal sex chromosomechro- mosome structure, sex steroid hormone production, or sex steroid hormone action for a male or female;female.

or(5) (c)Any Themedical treatmentprofessional convicted of anya infection,violation injury,of disease,this orsection disordershall thatbe hasguilty beenof causeda orfelony exacerbatedand byshall thebe performanceimprisoned ofin genderthe transitionstate procedures,prison whetherfor ora notterm theof proceduresnot weremore performedthan inten accordance(10) withyears. state and federal law.

(5)(6) InThe applyingprovisions subsection (4) (3)(a) of this section,act noare accounthereby shalldeclared to be takenseverable, ofand theif effectany onprovision theof personthis onact whomor the operationapplication isof tosuch beprovision performedto or any beliefperson onor thecircumstance partis ofdeclared thatinvalid person,for or any otherreason, person,such thatdeclaration theshall opera-not tionaffect isthe requiredvalidity asof athe matterremaining portions of customthis orsection. ritual.

(6) Any person convicted of a violation of this section shall be guilty of a felony and shall be imprisoned in the state prison for a term of not more than life ten (10) years.

(7) For the purposes of this section, "child" means any person under eighteen (18) years of age.

(8) For the purposes of this section, "sex" means the immutable biolog- ical and physiological characteristics, specifically the chromosomes and internal and external reproductive anatomy, genetically determined at con - ception and generally recognizable at birth, that define an individual as male or female.

(9) The provisions of this act are hereby declared to be severable, and if any provision of this act or the application of such provision to any person or circumstance is declared invalid for any reason, such declaration shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this section.

(10) The legislature finds and declares that:

(a) Biological sex is an objectively defined category that has obvious, immutable, and distinguishable characteristics.

(b) Gender dysphoria among children rarely persists into adulthood, with peer-reviewed research revealing that as many as ninety-eight per - cent (98%) of gender dysphoric boys and as many as eighty-eight percent (88%) of gender dysphoric girls ultimately identify with their biologi - cal sex after passing through puberty.

(c) Some healthcare providers now routinely administer puberty block- ers to prepubescent and pubescent children notwithstanding scientific evidence that children who remain on puberty blockers may never recover lost development and despite known sterility and additional concerns about reduced IQ and future osteoporosis.

(d) Some healthcare providers now routinely administer cross-sex hor- mones to pubescent children notwithstanding scientific evidence that such therapies cause irreversible sterility and likely increase risks of other medical conditions, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, blood clots, osteoporosis, and obesity.

(e) Some healthcare providers now refer pubescent adolescents for sex reassignment surgeries that permanently mutilate healthy reproductive organs and other body parts.

(f) The world professional association for transgender health, a pro- fessional organization that publishes the standards of care for treat - ing gender dysphoria, has altogether removed its age recommendations for adolescent sex reassignment surgeries, including but not limited to surgical castration, mastectomies, hysterectomies, and genital recon - struction, despite the known harms and experimental nature of perform - ing such surgeries on gender dysphoric children.

(g) Recent science suggests that medical interventions like surgeries and cross-sex hormones do not significantly improve long-term health outcomes for patients struggling with gender dysphoria and that suicide rates, psychiatric morbidities, and mortality rates remain markedly elevated above the background population after inpatient gender reas - signment procedures have been performed.

(h) No long-term randomized studies evaluate the efficacy or safety of the use of puberty blockers for the purpose of treating gender dyspho - ria, and no randomized clinical trials have been conducted on the effi - cacy or safety of the use of cross-sex hormones in adults or children for the purpose of treating gender dysphoria.

(i) These experimental, irreversible, and medically unnecessary phar- maceutical and surgical interventions violate the Hippocratic oath, taken by physicians for millennia, to "do no harm." (j) Therefore, the state of Idaho has a compelling government interest in protecting the health and safety of its minor children from such med - ical interventions for the purpose of attempting to affirm or change a child's gender expression.

Section 18-1506B, Idaho Code (Female genital Genital mutilation of a child);

Section 18-1506C, Idaho Code (Vulnerable child protection);