A controversial bill \u2014 that at one point had been presumed dead \u2014 banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender youths in Louisiana was passed by the Senate on Monday and is likely to reach the governor\u2019s desk<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A controversial bill \u2014 that at one point had been presumed dead \u2014 banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender youths in Louisiana was passed by the Senate on Monday and is likely to reach the governor’s desk in the coming days.
The bill, which passed in the Senate mainly along party lines, 29-10, would prohibit hormone treatments, gender-affirming surgery and puberty-blocking drugs for transgender minors in Louisiana. The measure will go back to the House, which has already overwhelmingly passed the legislation, to approve of minor amendments, including pushing back the effective date of the law to Jan. 1, 2024.
If the House concurs, the legislation would be sent to the desk of Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat who opposes it. Edwards has not said whether he would veto the bill. If he does, lawmakers could convene a veto session to try to override his decision. Last session, Edwards chose not to block a law banning transgender athletes from participating in women and girls sports competitions in Louisiana, although he successfully vetoed a similar measure last year.
The proposed gender-affirming care ban gained national attention last month when a Senate committee voted to kill the bill. Longtime Republican state Sen. Fred Mills was the tiebreaker vote, opposing the legislation citing that he \u201crelied on science and data and not political or societal pressures.\u201d
In a year when restrictions and prohibitions on gender-affirming care for transgender youths has been a priority on conservative agendas \u2014 with at least 18 states enacting laws limiting or banning the medical care, including all three of Louisiana\u2019s bordering states \u2014 the rejection of the controversial legislation did not go unnoticed.
In the days after the vote to defer the bill, state Attorney General Jeff Landry, who is a GOP gubernatorial candidate this year, and the Republican Party of Louisiana put pressure on Republicans to resurrect the bill. In a rare procedural move, the Senate voted to recommit the controversial bill to a different committee, successfully giving it a second chance at life.
Additionally, anti-transgender activists took to social media, including conservative political commentator Matt Walsh, who tweeted to his nearly 2 million followers that Mills would regret his decision and that it is \u201cthe biggest mistake of his political career.\u201d
Mills, who is term-limited, told lawmakers on the Senate floor Monday that despite his family, businesses and himself being harassed for his decision at the Capitol, he was proud of his vote and called it a \u201cdefining moment\u201d in his legislative career.
“I want to tell you, this is probably one of the biggest blessings in my life, this controversy. I\u2019ve been attacked nationwide, but I don\u2019t hate those people\u2026 they\u2019re passionate about their issue,\u201d Mills said. \u201cThe people that contacted me throughout the United States \u2026 thanking me that maybe we prevented a suicide (with the committee vote), I will let you all know I love you, and I hope things work out for you.\u201d
Opponents of the ban, argue that gender-affirming care, which is supported by every major medical organization, can be lifesaving for someone with gender dysphoria, which is distress over gender identity that doesn\u2019t match a person\u2019s assigned sex. Advocates for the LGBTQ+ community fear that without the care, transgender children could face especially heightened risks of stress, depression and suicidal thoughts.
\u201cWhen people, especially our youth, talk about suicide, that\u2019s not something that you take lightly,” said Sen. Gerald Boudreaux, a Democrat opposing the bill \u201cYou wait too long and you are at the funeral home.\u201d
Proponents of the legislation argue that the proposed ban would protect children from life-altering medical procedures until they are mature enough to make such serious decisions.
\u201cThis isn’t complicated. Kids should not have access to permanent medical procedures in order to affirm an identity that they might outgrow,\u201d Republican Sen. Jeremy Stine said.
Currently, children in Louisiana need parental permission to receive any gender-affirming health care before they turn 18.<\/p>\n\n\n\n