The politically divided state of New Hampshire has adopted legislation banning sex‑change surgeries and puberty blockers for minors. The law applies to all surgical and chemical procedures intended to alter a child’s sexual characteristics.
Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed two bills into law, making New Hampshire the first state in New England to ban all body-deforming gender‑transition procedures for minors.
HB 712 bans breast mutilation surgery for minors, and HB 377 bans cross‑sex hormones and puberty blockers for anyone younger than 18, the NH Journal reported.
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Former Gov. Chris Sununu had previously prohibited so‑called “bottom surgery” for youth, which includes castration, and the new laws extend the ban to “top surgery” (elective mastectomies for girls and breast implants for boys) and drugs used in so-called gender transitions.
The legislation will take effect in January 2026, though youth already mired in the process and desiring to continue can do so.
New Hampshire was already among 27 states with partial restrictions on trans procedures for youth; it now joins 19 states that prohibit all such interventions.
Ayotte said she signed the bills into law because the medical choices made by young people can have a permanent impact on their lives.
“These bills represent a balanced, bipartisan effort to protect children,” she was quoted as saying.
The bills were championed by Rep. Lisa Mazur, a Republican from Goffstown. She said she was glad the governor signed the legislation because it prevents minors from being subjected to hormones and surgeries that they cannot fully understand.
“These commonsense safeguards, strongly supported by Granite State voters, ensure children aren’t subjected to life‑altering medical interventions they can’t fully understand or consent to,” she said.
Mazur noted that surveys show public support; a NH Journal/Praecones Analytica poll released in July found that 69% of New Hampshire voters back the bans, while 16% oppose them.
Lawmakers passed the bills with almost unanimous Republican support.
Only two Democrats in the New Hampshire Legislature, Rep. Jonah Wheeler of Peterborough and Rep. Dale Girard of Claremont, voted for both measures.
Opponents argued that the bans infringe on family decision‑making and discriminate against trans-identified youth. Democratic caucus leaders contended that decisions about medical care should remain between families and physicians and stated that the state was intruding into their private lives. They also claimed that restricting access to puberty blockers and opposite-sex hormones could harm the mental health of youth who are confused about their sex.
Many health care providers have suspended gender-affirming surgeries for patients younger than 19 following a January order from President Donald Trump that barred federal funding for the “so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another.” The executive directive instructed agencies to enforce the restriction across any institution receiving federal health, education, or research funding.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a 400-page report in May that showed the risks associated with attempting to transition a child’s sex. The document stated that such procedures can result in infertility, sexual dysfunction, impaired bone development, cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, psychiatric issues, surgical complications and regret.
The report also referred to the Cass Review, a comprehensive assessment of trans procedures performed on children commissioned by the U.K.’s National Health Service. Its findings were included in the HHS publication, which forms part of the regulatory rationale driving the policy changes at multiple hospitals.
