A bill that would ban “gender-affirming care” on minors in Tennessee passed a major hurdle in committee this week and will now go to the full state Senate for a vote, which is expected to pass in the Republican-dominated Legislature.
The act would “prohibit a healthcare provider from performing on a minor or administering to a minor a medical procedure if the performance or administration of the procedure is for the purpose of enabling a minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the minor’s sex.”
Final Senate Hurdle
The bill would ban health care providers from prescribing puberty blockers, hormone treatments, and elective surgeries for minors for the purpose of gender transition.In the Senate judiciary hearing, four witnesses spoke in favor of the bill and one against.
A Nashville resident who identities as a transgender woman said the bill was dangerous and would have a negative impact on the suicide rates of youth who experience gender dysphoria.
Another witness, Prisha Mosley, said she experienced gender dysphoria as a minor and was allowed to undergo procedures which have caused her immense harm and issues later in life due to the fact she no longer believes she is a male.
“I will agree that lots of trans kids are suicidal and that suicide is a risk, but in my situation, when I said the word gender, all of the other things that caused those suicidal ideations were put to the side and no longer considered,” she told the senators. “And getting treatment for trauma and preventive care is much harder than getting trans care.”
Democrat state Sen. Sara Kyle questioned the bill’s sponsor, Republican state Sen. Jack Johnson, about the bill taking away parental rights.
“The Legislature is typically about parents’ rights, but [this bill] will take away those rights,” she said.
She said the bill is essentially saying the state government knows best and proposed sending the bill to a summer study to flesh out details and educate both sides on all issues “in order to respect the rights” the Legislature was “trying to take away.”
The proposal to hold the bill until a summer study would effectively have killed it for this session of the state Legislature. It failed on a party-line vote in the committee, with two Democrat senators voting yes and the seven Republicans voting no.
Johnson added that the bill would not create a criminal penalty to doctors, but they “would be subject to losing their medical license.”
“The state does have a compelling interest,” he said, responding to a question from his Democrat colleague. “We have both voted for bills that set parameters for the state’s interest to protect children.”
He said he had landed on the side of the state having a compelling interest because any medical procedure could be permanent and irreversible.
Johnson said the mechanism of enforcement could come through the attorney general’s office, which could sue a health care provider under the law.
Suicide
Suicide was a major factor in the discussion of the bill in the final committee, with both sides recognizing minors who struggle with gender dysphoria and other mental health conditions have a higher rate of suicide than the general population.Johnson said “children suffering with gender dysphoria often suffer with other comorbidities,” and should be treated in other ways such as counseling and psychotherapy instead of changes that are permanent such as surgery or medication.
He said suicide is a major concern, but asked whether it was in the best interest of children to make permanent changes to their bodies in an attempt to cure the suicidal ideation.
He ultimately said he believed the best course of treatment would be other forms of mental health care.
