Bill > HB679

This bill prohibits licensed healthcare practitioners in Maryland from prescribing, dispensing, or administering "cross-sex hormones" (which are defined as prescription hormones like estrogen and testosterone, or hormone blockers like testosterone blockers) or providing "cross-sex hormone therapy" (defined as treatment to develop secondary sex characteristics for someone transitioning from their sex assigned at birth to their experienced or expressed gender) to individuals under the age of 18 for the purpose of treating mental health diagnoses associated with gender nonconformity, including gender dysphoria. Violating this provision would be a felony punishable by imprisonment up to life, and the Department of Health is authorized to adopt regulations to implement this section, which is set to take effect on October 1, 2026.