A bill in the South Dakota legislature that originally sought to criminalize providing medical services to transgender youth died in a state senate committee on February 10, as reported by local ABC News affiliate KOTA TV. According to the local news station, a 5-2 vote sent the bill to its 41st day, and because the legislature only meets for 40 days, that means the bill is dead.

Republican state senator Helene Duhamel was among those who voted against the measure; she said, “I struggle to see this as a South Dakota issue. It is rare in our state. It is a parent issue.” As Teen Vogue reported last week, the bill’s main sponsor, Republican Fred Deutsch, had attended gatherings of the conservative legal organization the Heritage Foundation, which is part of a larger network of right-wing organizations involved in pushing for these legislative measures.

On social media, activists and organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of South Dakota celebrated the committee’s vote.

“We just proved once again that trans people belong in South Dakota. When you show up, raise your voice, and demand better — great things happen,” the state’s ACLU wrote on Twitter.

“Though supporters claimed House Bill 1057 was aimed at protecting vulnerable youth, it was clearly fueled by a fear and misunderstanding of transgender South Dakotans,” Libby Skarin, ACLU of South Dakota’s policy director, said in a statement after the vote. “It’s time we stop these attacks and the very real harm they cause to transgender youth across our state. Let this be a signal to the South Dakota Legislature that discrimination against a marginalized group is a distraction from the needs of the state and hurts us all.”

Kate Sosin, a reporter for the LGBTQ network Logo TV, was live-tweeting from South Dakota as the final drama played out. They reported that Deutsch made a last-minute amendment seeking to change the bill from stipulating criminal penalties to stipulating civil penalties for doctors who prescribe puberty blockers to people under 16.

Chase Strangio, the ACLU’s national deputy director for transgender justice, cautioned on Twitter that while today’s victory is worth celebrating, vigilance is prudent, as “nothing is ever dead in legislative session.”

Skarin of the ACLU of South Dakota spoke with Teen Vogue about the bill last week, saying, “These bills always concern us whenever they come up, no matter how likely they are or not to pass. But I think the energy behind this bill — HB 1057 — this year has been really intense.” Skarin offered commendations to the trans youth who testified in earlier House of Representatives proceedings on the bill.