There is a concerted strategy across the nation to harm children. Legislatures across the nation are attempting to limit healthcare and athletic involvement for transgender kids and New Hampshire legislators are following suit. Yesterday, New Hampshire lawmakers held a public hearing in an attempt to make transgender healthcare a felony.

These legislators are advancing this systematic effort by Republicans across the country to try to stop transgender people from participating in sports and receiving vital healthcare, calling it “barbaric.” I am the CEO of a transgender health center and a nurse practitioner trained to care for transgender patients. Gender-affirming care isn’t barbaric. It saves lives.

Legislating bodies isn’t in line with the New Hampshire state motto, “Live free or die.” Despite this, lawmakers are presenting the same discriminatory bills being proposed in Alabama, Missouri, Texas, Mississippi, Montana, Indiana, and Utah. They’ve done this before. Instead of learning from past mistakes, they’re again trying to disproportionately harm transgender individuals.

NH HB198 seeks not only to limit participation in girls’ sports but also, to define gender (against agreed-upon scientific definitions) as the “reality of biological differences between the sexes and rooted in objective biological fact and fairness.” NH HB68, sponsored by the same lawmakers, expands the definition of child abuse to include anyone who attempts to provide gender-affirming care.

These bills mirror a similar federal trend. Arriving on the heels of the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) ruling, which attempted to limit trans athletes’ participation in sports, they follow the federal reversal of healthcare protections for transgender citizens. They also follow a recent rule that permits social-service providers to discriminate based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Republicans are waging this insidious strategy across the country to define gender. Lawmakers shouldn’t define “biological fact” and” fairness.” Individuals and families should decide how to participate in sports, what bathroom to use, which healthcare provider to see, and what clinical interventions are or are not appropriate. These legislators are dictating how we receive healthcare and trying to redefine fundamental science.

Some lawmakers believe that gender is defined at birth. They need not redefine their own beliefs. However, those beliefs, which are in the minority, shouldn’t supersede research and be imposed on others.

These lawmakers are anachronistic; their dialogue centers around fears of transgender women and the impact of testosterone. Their overvaluation of testosterone in sports is unsupported by contemporary research and has been repeatedly debunked. As testosterone decreases, so too does bone density and muscle mass. A recent review concluded that there is “a paucity of evidence” supporting any actual physiologic data comparing sports performance to hormones. This fearmongering around female athletes obscures conversation around transgender men being forced to compete in women’s divisions.

Youth sports provide widespread and essential health benefits. Excluding kids would only further harm an already marginalized community that suffers from high rates of suicide. Instead, increasing support for transgender youth can dramatically reduce the risk of suicide from 57% to 4%. The passing of these bills would cause direct harm to minors and increase the likelihood of suicide in the Granite State.

Enabling transgender kids to live their lives on the playing fields, in the clinic, at school, at home and beyond, generally decreases psychological distress. Better yet, affirming transgender youth leads to mental health on par with their cisgender peers. By the design of these bills, lawmakers are doing just the opposite.

Researchers and healthcare practitioners have demonstrated that gender-affirming care is unequivocally beneficial for transgender youth. Colleagues from Harvard Medical School reported decreased suicidal ideation in youth when undergoing pubertal suppression, a treatment also deemed safe for cisgender boys and girls. Additionally, research demonstrates improved quality of life and health after receiving gender-affirming hormonal care. The data is clear; if transgender kids are allowed to play sports and see affirming providers, lives will be saved.

As of print, COVID cases in New Hampshire are climbing, and 3.8% of the people in New Hampshire are unemployed. Surely elected officials have something better to do than legislate on school sports and prevent necessary healthcare access. Legislators need to stop creating undue barriers to care and start responding to their constituents’ needs. These laws not only hurt the transgender community, who is already forced to live “in the shadows,” but also the surrounding community, which faces severe economic losses when legislators pass anti-LGBTQ laws. Instead, these legislators should follow the lead of Gov. Sununu and work to protect all Granite Staters.

Dallas Ducar, NP, is the chief executive officer of Transhealth Northampton. Follow her on Twitter @DallasDucar.