Louisiana closing in on gender affirming healthcare ban for transgender children, teens

Greg Hilburn, Shreveport Times
·2 min read
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Louisiana's state Senate revived a bill to ban gender affirming healthcare for transgender minors and a committee on Friday advanced it toward what will almost be certain final passage in the Legislature.

In a rare, but not unprecedented move, Senators voted 26-12 Thursday to bring House Bill 648 by Republican Pollock Rep. Gabe Firment back for consideration after the Senate Health and Welfare Committee voted 5-4 last week to kill the measure with the tie-breaking vote from Acadiana Republican Sen. Fred Mills.

Mills faced fierce social media backlash from national conservatives that prompted extra security in the Senate chamber, and Thursday night Republican West Monroe Sen. Stewart Cathey made a motion to bring the bill back to life and send it to the Judiciary A Committee, which advanced it without opposition Friday afternoon.

Friday's action reverses a rare win for the LGBTQ community in the Louisiana Legislature, where a version of what critics call the "Don't Say Gay" in classrooms bill and a bill to restrict children's access to public library materials deemed "sexually explicit" are steamrolling toward final passage.

There was no debate on Firment's bill Friday and it was advanced to the full Senate without objections after the three Democrats on the panel boycotted the hearing, Democratic Alexandria Sen. Jay Luneau confirmed to USA Today Network.

Chairman Barrow Peacock, a Shreveport Republican, said the Judiciary A hearing was designed to focus on "legal remedies" for those potentially harmed by gender affirming healthcare rather than rehash the long debate and testimony from the Senate Health and Welfare hearing.

Gender affirming healthcare can range from counseling to puberty blockers to hormones to surgery.

Firment insists such healthcare is experimental and dangerous, a position some doctors supported during the Senate Health and Welfare hearing on his bill.

But the American Medical Association disagrees.

Gabby D., a transgender man from Metairie, and his mom Tina D., protest anti-LGBTQ legislation on April 12, 2023 at the Louisiana Capitol.
Gabby D., a transgender man from Metairie, and his mom Tina D., protest anti-LGBTQ legislation on April 12, 2023 at the Louisiana Capitol.

“The AMA opposes the dangerous intrusion of government into the practice of medicine and the criminalization of healthcare decision-making,” said AMA board members Dr. Michael Suk in 2021. “Gender-affirming care is medically-necessary, evidence-based care that improves the physical and mental health of transgender and gender-diverse people.”

Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards has said he opposes much of the anti-LGBTQ legislation, but it's unclear whether he will veto Firment's bill or allow it to become law without his signature as he did last year with a bill that banned transgender athletes from competing on girls' or women's sports teams.

The House has already passed Firment's bill with a veto-proof margin.

More: Here's what Louisiana's version of what critics call Don't Say Gay would mean in schools

Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Louisiana close to gender affirming healthcare ban for transgender kids