Lawmakers in South Dakota are hoping to criminalize doctors who provide gender-transition care to minors.

A bill introduced by Republican state Rep. Fred Deutsch on Tuesday states that a medical professional who engages in any practice “for the purpose of attempting to change or affirm the minor’s perception of the minor’s sex," such as performing a surgery or prescribing hormones, will be guilty of a Class 4 felony.

House Bill 1057, which is being referred to by his author as the Vulnerable Child Protection Act, would also apply to emancipated minors.

Deutsch, who was joined by 44 other lawmakers co-sponsoring the bill, said that HB 1057 should work as a “pause button” for transgender youth.

LGBTQ activists and experts fear that the legislation can prove to have dangerous consequences and cause harm to transgender and gender non-conforming youth.

Studies show an alarming rate of attempts and ideation of suicide, as well as depression among transgender youth, when compared to their cisgender counterparts.

In the largest-ever national survey of LGBTQ youth and mental health, researchers found that 54% of transgender and non-binary youth reported having seriously considered suicide in the last year, and 29% of them made a suicide attempt.

The research, published in 2019 by The Trevor Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ and questioning youth, also showed that a staggering 78% of trans and non-binary youth said they had been discriminated against because of their identity.

"Transgender youth deserve to be loved and affirmed, not demonized by the very people elected to represent them,” Sam Brinton, The Trevor Project’s head of advocacy and government affairs told the Daily News in a statement.

“Respecting and affirming a young person’s identity is critical to their health and wellbeing. Blanket bans on medically necessary care for transgender youth contradict the resounding conclusion of nearly every major medical association in the United States and would put young lives at risk in South Dakota," they added.

Libby Skarin, the policy director for the ACLU of South Dakota firmly opposes the legislation, calling out lawmakers on proposing laws that could “stigmatize [transgender youth] and undermine their care.”

“Transgender kids, like all kids, deserve a chance to experience joy, to learn in a safe environment, to get the health care that they need, and to survive into adulthood,” said Skarin.

Similar legislation was introduced by Florida lawmakers earlier this week.

The South Dakota House State Affairs Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on the bill on Wednesday.