Minnesota's legislature moved one step closer to branding the state as a haven for minors seeking gender-affirming care after advancing a controversial measure that some are warning could strip custody from parents who deny such controversial treatments to their children.
The "trans refuge" bill aims to establish the state as a space for minors seeking gender-affirming procedures if they have been denied similar procedures in other states.
Democratic State Rep. Leigh Finke said of the bill Friday that, "Gender-affirming care is healthcare. Withholding or delaying gender-affirming care can have a dramatic impact on the mental health of any individual who needs it."
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Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, another Democrat, said, "When our medical professionals tell us that this care will improve and save lives of patients, it is our job to listen to them and to believe them."
Minnesota-based attorney Robert Roby is one of the state's residents who is not on board with the idea.
He joined "Fox & Friends First" on Monday to explain what this policy could mean for residents of his state should it become law.
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"I've been working in juvenile family court for thirty years, and I know exactly what kind of power that juvenile courts have when a child has been recognized as having a need for protection. Minnesota has a long history of protecting children, and the juvenile courts have a lot of teeth to do whatever it takes to keep kids safe," he said.
"The insidious thing about this bill is it puts children who are being denied these treatments that are permanent and will sterilize the child for life. If they're being denied those treatments, they're now in the same category as kids who are being abused or neglected."
Roby elaborated on the policy's implications, arguing its passage could mean the court system might strip parents of custody rights if they "neglect" their child by denying gender-affirming care.
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"When they take emergency custody, nobody else's rights – parental rights – matter. They're [the children] identified as at risk of being harmed, and the mechanism of the courts is designed to intervene decisively," he explained.
Roby said he sat in on a committee hearing before the bill was sent to the House floor for a vote and claimed that lawmakers were not interested in hearing testimony on the legal ramifications of the bill.
He added that the bill establishes the expectation that people from other states will bring children to Minnesota for gender-affirming treatments.
