The Arkansas Senate passed a bill that would block certain medical treatments for transgender children.
If Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson signs the Save Adolescents From Experimentation Act, it would make the state the first in the country to prevent medical professionals from providing certain types of care to transgender children.
The legislation targets medical professionals who provide treatment to transgender children if they do so using puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, or gender-reassignment surgery. Doctors could be sued or lose their medical license if the bill becomes a law and they’re found to have violated it.
It’s unclear if Hutchinson plans to sign the bill, but he has shown support for other bills focusing on transgender children.
“The governor will review the bill more closely, listen to the debate, study it, and make a decision on the legislation,” his spokeswoman Katie Beck said.
Proponents of the bill point to the increased number of children who identify as transgender and say the legislation is meant to protect them from irreversible decisions they could grow to regret. Opponents of the bill argue that it is discriminatory.
“Medical decisions belong to trans youth, their parents, and their doctor – not the government,” said Holly Dickson, American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas executive director. “This bill flies in the face of common decency, basic human rights, and the advice of every major medical association – not to mention federal law. What could possibly be more cruel than trying to take away a child’s access to the care that could save their life?”
“By passing this cruel and discriminatory legislation, Arkansas legislators ignored the pleas of parents, doctors, and trans young people themselves. Make no mistake: denying trans people health care because of who they are is wrong and illegal, and we’ll be ready to take this fight to court if this bill becomes law. But it doesn’t have to come to that. The whole country is watching whether Arkansas will continue this discriminatory race to the bottom that has cost other states millions. House Bill 1570 is the codification of cruelty, and for the well-being of all Arkansans, Governor Hutchinson should veto this cruel and harmful bill the moment it reaches his desk. If he doesn’t, we will see the state in court.”
Arkansas is not the only state working toward such legislation. There are 16 states considering more than 20 pieces of legislation that would, in some way, prohibit transgender children from receiving unfettered healthcare, according to the ACLU.
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Transgender healthcare is not the only issue making its way through state legislatures. Also in question is whether transgender athletes should be playing with others who share the same gender identity or same biological sex. Hutchinson signed a bill on March 25 forcing transgender athletes to participate in leagues with players who match their biological sex.
In both arguments, Democrats say Republicans are discriminating against transgender individuals by singling them out. Republicans claim that transgender women participating in sports against biologically born women creates an unfair advantage for those athletes.
