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N.H. weighs making gender-affirming care for minors a felony – The Boston Globe

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N.H. weighs making gender-affirming care for minors a felony – The Boston Globe


The bill would still need approval from the Senate and governor before it could become law.

LGBTQ+ advocates and health care providers denounced the bill’s passage.

“Representatives today chose to double down on discrimination and block life-saving healthcare that has been studied and proven effective for 40 years,” said Linds Jakows, founder of 603 Equality, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, in a statement.

“All Granite Staters should be outraged that loving parents will be charged with felonies for accessing healthcare, a dangerous authoritarian precedent,” Jakows said.

Puberty blockers can pause the onset of puberty and have been used as a part of gender-affirming care for young people experiencing gender dysphoria. The medication stops the body from making sex hormones and its effects are reversible. A young person can still go through normal puberty if they stop taking the blocker.

Hormone therapy typically includes the use of testosterone and estrogen to more closely align someone’s outer appearance with their gender identity.

Republicans who supported the ban argued the treatments are dangerous, and do not have proven long-term benefits. They said people can still access treatment when they turn 18, and they pointed to some individuals whose gender dysphoria is resolved without medical intervention after they undergo puberty.

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Speaking in favor of the bill, Representative Erica Layon, a Derry Republican, said gender-affirming care is “turning some of these children into lifelong medical patients, which enriches Big Pharma.”

And she argued that current counseling around gender is inadequate because it is required to affirm the changed gender identity, without sufficiently questioning that change.

Endocrinologists in New Hampshire who provide transgender care said puberty blockers have been used in pediatric endocrinology for decades to treat early puberty, and there is a lot of data demonstrating safety and efficacy. Providers and transgender people said there are many mental health benefits for children who receive gender-affirming care.

Democrats called the ban cruel and discriminatory, since it targets transgender youth accessing the treatment, and includes exceptions for people with ambiguous genitalia.

“If denied this care, trans children will not be able to escape developing secondary sexual characteristics that they’re hoping to avoid,” said Representative Jessica F. LaMontagne, a Dover Democrat. Even if they decide to transition as an adult, she said, they will have to live with those characteristics for the rest of their lives.

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“Puberty blockers are temporary and reversible,” she said. “But puberty is not.”

For people assigned male at birth, the medication can slow the growth of facial and body hair, prevent the voice from deepening, and limit the growth of male sexual organs. For people assigned female at birth, it limits or stops breast development, and stops menstruation, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Republicans in New Hampshire remain wary about the risks of such treatments and insist they should be off the table, at least for children.

“Minors deserve protection from experimental medical interventions that could cause lasting harm,” wrote Representative Lisa Mazur, a Goffstown Republican, in the committee’s recommendation to pass the bill.

But civil liberties advocates argued that the government shouldn’t dictate what kind of health care people can access.

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“Every Granite Stater deserves the freedom to control their bodies and seek the health care they need free from government intrusion — including LGBTQ+ and transgender young people,” said Courtney Reed, a policy advocate at the ACLU of New Hampshire.

Transgender issues and rights have been among the most contentious issues debated by the Legislature this year, as President Trump has taken executive action limiting passports for transgender people, seeking to exclude them from the military, and to keep transgender girls off girls’ sports teams.

Last week, the New Hampshire House passed a bill rolling back some anti-discrimination protections for transgender people, enabling their exclusion from bathrooms, sports teams, locker rooms, and detention facilities that match their gender identity. On Thursday, the Senate passed its version of a similar proposal, Senate Bill 268.

A similar proposal was vetoed last year by then Governor Chris Sununu. Asked about House Bill 148 on Wednesday, Republican Governor Kelly A. Ayotte said she needs to see the final provisions of the bill before determining her position on it. She did say, however, that she’s made up her mind on women’s sports.

“An issue I’ve felt strongly about is making sure that biological males are not competing in female sports,” she said. “That issue is important to me.”

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Proponents of sex-segregated sports team argue it is an issue of fairness and safety.

Last year, New Hampshire passed a bill banning transgender girls from the girls’ sports team in middle and high school. The Senate on Thursday passed Senate Bill 211, a broader sports and locker room ban that would also include college sports.

The new law is facing a lawsuit arguing it unfairly targets transgender girls and violates Title IX and the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The transgender girls who are plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the state are also challenging Trump’s sports ban in federal court.


Amanda Gokee can be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com. Follow her @amanda_gokee.

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Missing motorcyclist found dead after crash in Shelburne, NH

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Missing motorcyclist found dead after crash in Shelburne, NH


A New Hampshire motorcyclist who had been missing since the Fourth of July was found dead in Shelburne late Thursday night.

State police say they received a request from the Berlin Police Department just after 7:30 p.m. Thursday for help locating 41-year-old Wesley Grondin — the Berlin man was last seen riding his motorcycle on Saturday, July 4, and had been reported missing.

Troopers received a call a couple of hours later, around 10:10 p.m. Thursday, from a concerned resident who had been out looking for Grondin along Route 2 in Shelburne. The person told police they had found Grondin dead, along with his Harley Davidson.

According to state police, a preliminary investigation determined that Grondin was riding his Harley on Route 2 westbound in Shelburne when, for reasons that remain under investigation, he crossed over into the opposing lane, struck a post, and came to a final rest in the wood line.

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The crash is believed to have occurred just before midnight on July 4. At this time, police say there’s no indication that another vehicle or person was involved.

All aspects of the crash remain under investigation, however. Anyone with information that may assist investigators is asked to contact Trooper Hunter Newsham at Hunter.P.Newsham@dos.nh.gov.



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Nashua, NH, woman jailed for falsifying marriage to claim late man’s estate

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Nashua, NH, woman jailed for falsifying marriage to claim late man’s estate


KEENE, N.H. — A Nashua woman who had a town clerk falsely certify a marriage that never happened so she could claim her late partner’s property has been sentenced to seven days in jail, placed on probation and ordered to repay thousands to his estate.

Attorney General John Formella said Wendy Leedberg‑Snow, 60, turned to Winchester Town Clerk Jim Tetreault after the death of her longtime partner, Eric Leedberg — who was born in Lowell — using the falsified license to pose as his spouse and lay claim to property from his estate, an effort prosecutors describe as an attempt to rewrite the couple’s history for financial gain.

“This case involved a deliberate effort to manipulate official government records and exploit the death of a loved one for personal financial gain,” Formella said in a press release announcing the sentencing. “Our vital records system depends on honesty and integrity, and those who seek to corrupt that system will be held accountable. I want to thank the investigators and prosecutors whose work ensured justice for the victim’s family.”

According to Leedberg’s obituary, he was 53 when he died on Oct. 12, 2023, following a two‑year battle with cancer.

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In the obituary, Leedberg-Snow is described as his “significant other.”

Prosecutors said Leedberg‑Snow moved quickly after his death, relying on Tetreault’s signature to fabricate a marriage that never occurred and position herself as Leedberg’s surviving spouse.

Tetreault, who was a New Hampshire justice of the peace at the time, falsely signed the marriage license claiming he had officiated the couple’s wedding. He later admitted he never performed any ceremony for Leedberg‑Snow and Leedberg and had no personal knowledge of them ever being married.

Leedberg‑Snow used the fraudulent certificate to obtain property from Leedberg’s estate, including a pickup truck and trailer, and later attempted to influence a witness connected to the scheme.

Leedberg‑Snow pleaded guilty in Cheshire County Superior Court in Keene to felony counts of solicitation to commit vital records fraud, title fraud, theft by misapplication of property and witness tampering.

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In addition to her seven‑day jail term, she must serve two years of probation, pay $4,600 in restitution, return the truck and trailer to Leedberg’s estate and comply with a suspended three‑and‑a‑half‑ to seven‑year prison sentence, which means the sentence only takes effect if she violates the conditions of her probation.

Tetreault, who continues to serve as Winchester’s town clerk and “fully cooperated with the State’s investigation,” according to prosecutors, pleaded guilty in April to notarial misconduct, a Class A misdemeanor. As part of a negotiated plea, prosecutors dropped a felony charge of vital records fraud. He was sentenced to 90 days in the house of corrections, all suspended for two years on good behavior, and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine plus a $240 penalty assessment.

He resigned his commissions as a justice of the peace and bail commissioner and agreed not to seek recommissioning as a justice of the peace or notary public during the two‑year suspension period.

Tetreault could not be reached for comment at his office number.

Follow Aaron Curtis on X @aselahcurtis, or on Bluesky @aaronscurtis.bsky.social.

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Rescue Crews Help Injured Woman Off Mt. Washington

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Rescue Crews Help Injured Woman Off Mt. Washington


SARGENT’S PURCHASE – On Saturday, personnel from multiple rescue crews teamed up to help an injured woman get off of Mt. Washington to seek medical treatment.

At approximately 7:45 AM, New Hampshire Fish and Game Department Conservation Officers were notified that a staff member at the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) Lakes of the Clouds Hut had taken a serious fall at the hut and was left unable to walk.

Fish and Game subsequently mobilized search and rescue personnel to come and help evacuate the young woman from her remote location.

By 10:00 AM, members of the Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue Team (AVSAR), Pemigewassett Valley Search and Rescue Team (Pemi), AMC and Fish and Game had gathered at the Base Station of the Cog Rail. The Cog Railway generously donated room on their trains, and rescuers and equipment were given rides up Mt. Washington to the West Side Trail, which allowed for a shorter and less strenuous 1.6 mile hike than other routes.

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By 11:20 AM rescuers were at the hut with the patient. The patient was subsequently packaged in a litter and prepared for an overland carryout back to the Cog tracks.

Rescue personnel made steady progress, and by 2:15 PM had made it back across West Side Trail and to the train tracks. A Cog Railway train picked up the whole rescue party and brought everyone back down the mountain. Once roadside, the patient was evaluated by personnel from Twin Mountain Fire and Rescue.

She was ultimately driven from the scene by a friend and went to Memorial Hospital in North Conway for further evaluation
and treatment of multiple injuries related to her fall. The patient was identified as Cali Turner, 26, of Willimantic, Maine.

Fish and Game would like to thank all of the people and organizations involved in this rescue effort. Through the help of everyone, the rescue was a great success and got done in a timely manner.

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