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Louisiana lawmakers pressed to resurrect bill banning gender-affirming care for minors

The Republican Louisiana lawmaker who voted to kill a bill banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender youths is receiving national backlash from conservatives

Sara Cline
Friday 26 May 2023 21:28 BST
Gender Care Ban Backlash
Gender Care Ban Backlash (Ā© 2022 The Advocate)

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A longtime Republican lawmaker, in rural Louisiana, is facing national backlash following his tie-breaking vote to kill a bill that would ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender youths in the state.

State Sen. Fred Mills told The Associated Press Friday that he stands by his decision. But state Attorney General Jeff Landry ā€” who is a GOP gubernatorial candidate ā€” and the Republican Party of Louisiana are pressing lawmakers to resurrect the bill and pass it.

Millsā€™ decisive vote Wednesday poises Louisiana to be one of the few southeastern states that hasnā€™t enacted a ban or restrictions on gender-affirming care. Proposals are pending in North Carolina and South Carolinaā€™s legislatures, and federal judges have temporarily blocked bans in Arkansas and Alabama.

ā€œWhile the topic of transgender rights is immensely complicated and socially polarizing, the bill before me was not,ā€ Mills, a pharmacist, said in a written statement Friday. Mills is also the chairman of the Senateā€™s Health and Welfare Committee, where the bill was debated for nearly three hours. He added that he relied on ā€œscience and data and not political or societal pressure.ā€

With Millsā€™ vote, the bill ā€” which would have prohibited hormone treatments, gender-affirming surgery and puberty-blocking drugs for transgender minors in Louisiana ā€” was deferred, 5-4. In the hours after, backlash mounted with anti-transgender activists taking to social media, including conservative political commentator Matt Walsh, who tweeted to his nearly 2 million followers that Mills would ā€œregretā€ his decision and that it is ā€œthe biggest mistake of his political career.ā€

In recent years, Republicans who blocked proposed transgender care bans have faced political fallout.

In Arkansas, former Gov. Asa Hutchinson angered fellow Republicans in 2021 when he vetoed a similar ban. The GOP-led Legislature moved quickly to override Hutchinsonā€™s veto and enact the ban, which has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge. At the time, former President Donald Trump criticized Hutchinson over the veto, calling him a ā€œRINO,ā€ or ā€œRepublican in Name Only.ā€

Hutchinson, who signed into law other restrictions on transgender youth, argued the medical ban went too far. The Republican said he would have supported a prohibition that focused only on surgery.

The deferral of Louisianaā€™s proposed ban marked a rare victory for LGBTQ+ advocates this legislative session, who continue to fight against multiple bills ā€” from a bill critics call ā€œDonā€™t Say Gay," to mandates regarding pronoun usage, to restrictions on access to library books deemed ā€œsexually explicit,ā€ which advocates fear would target the queer community.

But, with two weeks left in the session, conservatives are hastily seeking and pursing ways to revive the legislation.

ā€œI donā€™t think you are going to see the last of it,ā€ Mills said Friday.

Already, House lawmakers added a poison pill amendment to Millsā€™ own bill ā€” related to telehealth ā€” that would bar that legislation from becoming law unless the ban on gender-affirming care also becomes law. Additionally, lawmakers can opt to discharge the failed bill from committee, meaning it can receive a vote on the GOP-controlled Senate floor despite failing in committee. This tactic is uncommon and rarely succeeds, but there is growing pressure from political forces outside of the Legislature to do so.

ā€œAs attorney general for 8 years I have worked hard to protect our children. I urge the full Senate to take up and pass HB 648,ā€ Landry tweeted Friday. ā€œAs governor, I would immediately sign this bill into law. Pediatric sex changes should have no place in our society.ā€

In a press release, the Republican Party of Louisiana also urged the Senate to override the committee vote and debate it on the floor ā€œwhere all senators will have the chance to weigh in on this pivotal piece of legislation.ā€ The bill had already been passed in the House, mainly along party lines, 71-24.

Proponents of the legislation argue the proposed bans would protect children from life-altering medical procedures until they are ā€œmature enoughā€ to make such serious decisions. Additionally, they fear the state could draw minors from surrounding states ā€” where there are bans ā€” seeking gender-affirming health care.

Opponents of Louisianaā€™s bill argue that gender-affirming care, which is supported by every major medical organization, can be lifesaving for someone with gender dysphoria ā€” distress over gender identity that doesnā€™t match a personā€™s assigned sex. Research suggests transgender children and adults are prone to stress, depression and suicidal thoughts, and advocates for the LGBTQ+ community fear that without the care, transgender children could face especially heightened risks.

So far, at least 18 states have enacted laws restricting or prohibiting gender-affirming care for minors, and all three of Louisianaā€™s bordering states have enacted bans or are poised to.

ā€”ā€”

Associated Press writer Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas, contributed to this report.

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