South Dakota Joins Other States in Restricting Gender-Affirming Care for Minors

South Dakota has joined five other states that have restricted transition-related care for transgender minors in just the past two years.

On Monday, Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican, signed the “Help Not Harm” bill, which bans health care professionals from providing puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgery to minors as treatment for gender dysphoria, which is the distress caused by a sense of conflict between the assigned sex at birth and the person’s gender identity.

Providers who are already treating trans minors with puberty blockers, which temporarily pause puberty, or hormone therapy will be required to taper the minors off the medications by Dec. 31.

Read the source article at nbcnews.com