(The Center Square) — Nearly three weeks after enraging fellow Republicans by vetoing a “bathroom” bill, Gov. Kelly Ayotte has signed bills making New Hampshire the first state in the New England region to ban “gender-affirming” medical care for underaged children.
Ayotte signed two bills Friday that would prohibit transgender minors from receiving puberty blockers, hormone therapy and another banning “gender-affirming chest surgery” for those under 18 to assist in their transition from one sex to another. Patients already receiving these treatments before Jan. 1, 2026 will be allowed to continue with them, under an amendment added to the bills.
The Republican-controlled state legislature sent both bills to the governor’s desk last month over objections from Democrats and LGBTQ+ groups who called the bills discriminatory.
“Medical decisions made at a young age can carry lifelong consequences, and these bills represent a balanced, bipartisan effort to protect children,” Ayotte said in a statement.
The bill’s primary sponsor, state Rep. Lisa Mazur, praised Ayotte for signing the bill and said the new restrictions will “protect minors in New Hampshire from harmful cross-sex hormones and irreversible surgeries.”
“These common sense 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,” Mazur said in a statement. “New Hampshire is now the first state in New England and the Northeast to take this important step to protect vulnerable youth.”
The LGBTQ+ advocacy group Outright New Hampshire said it was “deeply disappointed” by the move and said it will “deny transgender youth in the Granite State access to evidence-based, age-appropriate, rigorously vetted, best practice medical care.”
“These bills cause unnecessary harm and undue hardship to an already vulnerable group of young people,” the group said in a statement. “This is not the New Hampshire way. The Granite State values of freedom and liberty mean creating a state where all are seen, valued, and cared for.”
Ayotte’s approval of the bills comes nearly three weeks after she vetoed House Bill 148, which would have allowed businesses and organizations to require people to use bathrooms, locker rooms, athletic events, and settings such as jails and mental health facilities based on their biological gender at birth. Last year, Ayotte’s predecessor, then-Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican, vetoed a nearly identical version of the bill.
A March poll by the University of New Hampshire found 71% of Granite Staters support policies aimed at keeping males who identify as women out of women’s sports. Only 21% oppose such policies, pollsters found.
President Donald Trump signed the “No Men in Women’s Sports” executive order Feb. 5, which barred federal funding for educational institutions that allow males to compete on women’s or girls’ sports teams. He has vowed to cut funding to states that don’t comply with the directive.
