State closer to abortion, transgender safeguards
Bill would shield people tied to medical services
By Scott Fallon
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... New Jersey has moved a step closer to establishing legal protections for transgender procedures and abortion services under a bill making its way through Trenton.
..... The measure - A2218?S2260 - is designed in part to protect provides and patients form prosecution and civil litigation by other states where transgender and abortion services have become illegal in recent years.
..... It also sets up criminal penalties for "interference' with patients seeking these services - an issue that anti-abortion activists say could infringe upon their First Amendment rights to protest in front of medical offices.
..... At an Assembly Health Committee hearing on May 14, [2026] supporters of the bill - including parents of transgender teens - told lawmakers that the measure is necessary to ensure that only physicians, parents and patients should be allowed to make decisions about whether gender-affirming procedures such as hormone therapy or surgery should proceed.
..... Among those testifying in support was Jennifer Williams, a Trenton councilwoman and the first openly transgender persons elected to municipal office in New Jersey.
..... "Ronald Reagan once said, 'Government's first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives,'' she said. "A2218 protects the people."
..... Gregory Quinlan, founder of the Center for Garden State Families, who described himself as "an ex-gay" who "left the homosexual lifestyle," said transgender surgery is too irreversible and should be banned for anyone under 18.
..... With a Democratic majority in the legislature, New Jersey is a fairly progressive state when it comes to abortion access and public policy affecting the health care of transgender communities.
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Many New Jersey hospitals in recent years have opened centers for LGBTQ+ health care, where hormone therapy is a popular service. But there have been efforts to stop procedures, such as a bill introduced in 2022 that would criminalize hormone therapies and other treatment for transgender adolescents.
Parental consent not waived
..... The new bill moving through the Legislature does not waive parental consent to gender-affirming procedures such as hormone therapy or surgery.
.....The measure is an attempt to shield New Jersey provides and patients from other states where abortions and transgender services are illegal but may be conducted, at least partially, via telehealth.
..... Such laws cannot be applied in New Jersey courts, whether criminal or civil. However, some civil actions, such as a malpractice case,c an still be brought from state to state, according to the bill.
..... It would prevent a doctor, a patient or anyone else from being extradited to another state for being engaged in a "legally protected health care activity," including abortion and transgender procedures. It would add other safeguards to keep medical records private.
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A large section of the bill deals with "interference" at offices that provide abortion and transgender services, which includes everything from causing bodily injury to video recording within 100 feet of an entrance.
..... Marie Tasy, executive director of New Jersey Right to Life, said laws already prohibit violence outside clinics. Tasy said the bill would interfere with First Amendment-protected activities by using vague language such as "interference' or "intimidation" when protesters may be engaged in "peaceful advocacy" on public sidewalks.
..... But supporters said the measure is needed because picketing in front of medical offices has rinse since the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022 and allowed individual states to determine whether abortion is legal.
..... Jesse Burns, executive director of the League of Women Voters of New Jersey, called the right to transgender and abortion services "foundational to our democracy."
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"Without the unencumbered ability to access these rights, all people cannot be fully empowered and engaged," she said.