Many of this year's statehouse proposals to restrict gender-affirming care for youths, as introduced or enacted, are identical or very similar to some model legislation, or ready-made bills suggested to lawmakers by interest groups, an Associated Press analysis has found.
The AP obtained the texts of more than 130 bills in 40 state legislatures from , a public policy software company, and analyzed them for similarities to model bills touted by the conservative groups and the Family Research Council.
Some statehouse bills share similarities with Do No Harm’s and a endorsed as a model by the Family Research Council. The model bills have similar preambles, including the assertion — — that the risks of gender-affirming care outweigh its benefits.
They both also include nearly the same list of circumstances under which the care would be permitted and similar descriptions of how the provisions of the bill should be enforced.
The AP’s analysis was not exhaustive; not all model legislation was analyzed and cross-referenced with actual statehouse bills. But here are some similarities the AP found:
MONTANA
Nearly all the language in Montana , as introduced, can be found in Do No Harm's model bill. The version that retained much of the model's language. Publicly available emails from December show the Republican sponsor, Sen. John Fuller, tweaked Do No Harm's model before introducing it weeks later.
ARKANSAS
This year’s — which has been — and Do No Harm’s model bill both cite studies from Europe with similar framing to assert that the benefits of gender-affirming care are not backed by evidence.
Arkansas Sen. Gary Stubblefield, a Republican and the chief sponsor of Senate Bill 199, said he had not talked with Do No Harm about the legislation.
IOWA
The preamble of , which did not advance, shares several passages with Do No Harm’s model. , which also restricts gender-affirming care, contains language similar to the touted by the Family Research Council's model and was
Iowa Sen. Sandy Salmon, a Republican who sponsored Senate File 129, and a spokesperson for Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, who was consulted on Senate File 538, did not respond to requests for comment.
MISSISSIPPI
The sponsor of denied in a conversation with AP reporters this year that he used model legislation or consulted with a specific group, saying that his constituents raised concerns and that legislative attorneys helped craft the language.
The AP found that the bill contains definitions, descriptions of gender-affirming surgeries and exempted health procedures that were worded similarly and sometimes identically in the models from Do No Harm and the Family Research Council. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves in February.
When contacted for comment recently about the AP’s findings, the sponsor, Republican state Rep. Gene Newman, said he had received his information from legislative staffers, that they pulled language from other states’ bills, and that he didn’t know who else they might have spoken with.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
A closely resembles the 2021 Arkansas bill put forth as a model by the Family Research Council. It shares the same preamble, definitions and enforcement process. It is being held in committee for further work.
WEST VIRGINIA
Two bills in West Virginia share the same preamble, definitions and enforcement process as the 2021 Arkansas bill suggested by the Family Research Council as a model.
died in committee, but a was in March.
A West Virginia Republican, Sen. Mark Maynard, opposed adding mental health exemptions, saying during floor debate, “Fifteen states already have this exact language in their code."
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Contributing to this report were Associated Press journalists around the country, including Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas; Amy Beth Hanson in Helena, Montana; Michael Goldberg and Emily Wagster Pettus in Jackson, Mississippi; Scott McFetridge in Des Moines, Iowa; Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire; and Leah Willingham in Charleston, West Virginia.
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Harjai is a corps member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
