Republican lawmakers eye veto overrides for NC bills targeting transgender youth

State House lawmakers are expected to try to override the governor’s veto of two bills aimed at transgender youth next week.

The bills are focused on gender-affirming care and transgender athletes.

The House override votes were initially scheduled for Wednesday, but Speaker Tim Moore's office now says they will not happen this week.

House Bill 808 would ban any doctor or medical professional from providing any type of gender-affirming medical care to anyone under the age of 18, even with parental consent. The ban would cover puberty blockers, hormone treatments and surgical interventions.

Gender-affirming surgeries are rarely performed on people under 18, and puberty blockers are also not commonly used. Hormone treatment is the most common prescribed treatment for transgender teens seeking transition care. While it is reversible to some extent, it can have permanent side effects.

Sponsors of the bill say the bill is meant to protect minors from making decisions with life-long consequences that they might later regret. But critics argue that every major medical society supports gender-affirming care. Studies show it reduces the rate of suicide among transgender minors.

Rep. Tim Reeder, R-Pitt, a doctor and one of the bill’s main backers, acknowledged during debate in June that the North Carolina Medical Society doesn’t support the ban. Nor do the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics or the Endocrine Society, all of which support the use of gender-affirming medical protocols for minors as part of a continuum of care that includes extensive counseling.

The bill makes an exception for underage patients who were already receiving gender-affirming treatments as of Aug. 1, 2023, with the consent of the patient’s doctor and parents. It also doesn’t ban gender-affirming mental health care.

The measure also bans any state funding from being used for gender-affirming care for minors, with the exception of the State Health Plan, which is currently under court order to provide coverage. And it would allow anyone who undergoes gender-affirming medical care to sue the doctor for damages and legal costs for 25 years after the care is provided.

In his veto message last Wednesday, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper said decisions about gender care for minors should be left to their families and their doctors, not politicians. “Ordering doctors to stop following approved medical protocols sets a troubling precedent and is dangerous for vulnerable youth and their mental health,” Cooper said in a statement.

The bill passed its final House vote June 28 along strict party lines, with no Democrats supporting and no Republicans opposed. That makes it a likely candidate for a veto override, since Republicans hold a veto-proof majority.

However, House leaders say they’ll make a final decision about whether to take an override vote Wednesday when they see how many legislators are present for that session. An override requires a three-fifths vote of all members present and voting, so if several Republican lawmakers are out, Republicans may not have the votes they need.

Transgender sports ban

House Bill 574 would ban transgender girls and women from competing in girls’ or women’s sports in middle school through college. It would apply to private schools and universities as well as public institutions. Any violations would have to be reported to state lawmakers.

It would also create a two-year window for a student who “is likely to suffer direct or indirect harm” from a violation of the policy, or who is deprived of an athletic opportunity by a transgender female, to sue the school that allowed the athlete to compete.

Sponsors of the bill say it’s inherently unfair to allow people who were born male to compete against people born female because of differences in strength and speed. They cite the example of a teen volleyball player who was injured recently by a ball spiked by a transgender girl she was playing against.

Critics of the bill say only two transgender girls have even sought to play high school sports in the state in the past four years. They say the North Carolina High School Athletics Association has done a good job managing the special eligibility process for transgender students.

Cooper on Wednesday accused lawmakers of “inflaming their political culture wars by making broad, uninformed decisions about an extremely small number of vulnerable children,” and noted that Republican governors in other states have vetoed similar bills.

The bill passed its final House vote June 22 with one Democrat, Rep. Michael Wray, D-Northampton, joining all Republicans present in supporting the measure. So it, too, is a likely candidate for a veto override.

If the House overrides the vetoes, the Senate would also need to vote to override before the bills would become law.

Parents’ Bill of Rights

The third bill Cooper vetoed Wednesday also targets LGBTQ+ issues. Senate Bill 49 would ban the topics of sexuality, sexual orientation or gender identity from any curriculum or classroom materials in kindergarten through fourth grade. It also requires schools to inform a student’s parents if the student asks to be called by a different name or to use different pronouns.

Sponsors of the bill have accused schools of seeking to “indoctrinate” students on “woke” issues like gender identity. They say the parents, not the school, should set values for their children. Opponents call it a version of the “Don’t say gay” laws passed by other GOP states, notably Florida. They say it will further isolate transgender or questioning children by requiring schools to out them to their parents before the student is ready.

Because S49 is a Senate bill, it has to have its first veto override vote in the Senate. The Senate has no scheduled votes this week, so it will likely wait until next week for an override. There is no time limit for lawmakers trying to override a veto.

The measure passed the Senate on party lines, so the veto will likely be overridden in that chamber. However, one House Republican, Rep. Hugh Blackwell, R-Burke, voted against the measure, which could put a House override in jeopardy.