There were two states with big actions today in committee: Florida and Montana.
Florida.
This bill is sinister. I can’t think of another word for it. It passed out of the Health Policy Committee today on an 8-3 vote.
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Child Custody. The bill would amend Florida’s version of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), which governs child custody disputes when the parents or guardians are located in more than one state. Here’s what the bill does:
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When a child is at risk of or is being subjected to the provision of sex-reassignment prescriptions or procedures, a few things would be allowed to happen:
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a Florida court can take temporary emergency jurisdiction over a case
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The court can take the fact of such treatment in determining the proper venue for the case (e.g., Florida or the other state)
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it would be considered “serious physical harm” such that when there is a child custody case pending it could trigger the issuance of a warrant to take immediate custody of the child
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That it is “justifiable conduct” in order to secure jurisdiction in a Florida state court for a parent or guardian to remove a child from the other parent or guardian in order to prevent sex-reassignment prescriptions or procedures
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That a Florida court can vacate, stay, or modify another state’s custody determination to prevent sex-reassignment prescriptions or procedures.
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No Public Funds. There would be a prohibition on any state funds (including state insurance plans) covering sex reassignment procedures or prescriptions.
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Hospitals: banned from providing sex reassignment procedures or prescriptions to minors.
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Medical Professionals: banned from providing “any medical procedure”, including surgery, to affirm gender identity, for anyone under 18
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Anyone performing sex reassignment medical procedures or dispensing prescriptions to persons under 18—except under the rules they’ve yet to develop for persons currently undergoing care [insert eye roll]—will be committing a crime classified as a Felony.
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Blockers, hormones, and hormone antigens can only be prescribed by M.D.’s
Check out the work that Equality Florida is doing and support them any way you can.
Track SB254 here.
Montana.
This bill seeks to define “sex” across the Montana Code as follows, elsewhere codifying that there are “exactly two sexes”:
(a) “Female” means a member of the human species that, under normal development, produces a relatively large, relatively immobile gamete, or egg, during her life cycle and has a reproductive and endocrine system oriented around the production of that gamete.
(b) “Male” means a member of the human species that, under normal development, produces small, mobile gametes, or sperm, during his life cycle and has a reproductive and endocrine system oriented around the production of that gamete.
A/K/A, the state that doesn’t believe intersex people exist. (they do)
The huge problem with this bill—which would throughout redefine “male”, “female”, and “sex” throughout Montana’s code—is that intersex people would arguably be written out of the Montana Code in many places. This is best covered in this awesome thread from Dr. Wilson that I’m linking again below—the analysis is really good and highlights the real risks of this piece of legislation.
Montana’s SB458 passed out of Finance and Claims committee today, 11-8.
Track it here.
It’s hair-on-fire time, everyone. Fight like hell.
p.s. I’ll keep cross-posting on Daily Kos but you can also subscribe (for free!!!) to my substack here.