South Dakota ‘help not harm’ act

Written by David Fletcher 23 Feb 2023
South Dakota ‘help not harm’ act

South Dakota signed into law a bill that prohibits healthcare professionals from using drugs, hormones or surgery to alter the appearance of the sex of a minor. Under the Help Not Harm Act, healthcare professionals who violate the law will lose their professional licence or certificate. If they have already begun a course of treatment on a minor, that treatment must stop. If immediate termination of the treatment would harm the minor, the treatment may be ‘systematically reduced,’ and must end by 31 December 2023. The Institute for Research and Evaluation of Scientific Evidence stated, ‘Cross-sex medical treatments are not beneficial to children. There is evidence of harmful impact, and gender dysphoria in children usually goes away on its own by young adulthood, if “transition” is not encouraged. This avoids the harmful effects of such interventions.’

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