Trans youth health care ban killed by Louisiana Senate panel in win for LGBTQ+ advocates [View all]
A Louisiana Senate committee killed a bill Wednesday that sought to ban access to gender-affirming health care for transgender youth, a victory for LGBTQ+ activists fighting the legislation.
The proposed ban on procedures such as puberty blockers and surgeries, House Bill 648, was sponsored by Rep. Gabe Firment, R-Pollock. Though Firment had filed the measure in previous years, the bill progressed further this year than it had in past years, amid a national climate where Republican-controlled legislatures have pushed more efforts to ban or restrict access to gender-affirming health care.
Legislatures, including Louisiana's, have also increasingly moved to curtail access to books with LGBTQ+ themes and the discussion of sexuality in schools.
Firment and other conservative supporters of his bill, including some doctors, have said it would give parents more say in health care decisions and protect children from overly invasive medical procedures.
Firment declined to comment after the hearing Wednesday.
https://www.nola.com/news/politics/legislature/trans-youth-healthcare-ban-killed-by-louisiana-senate-panel/article_6960e712-fa52-11ed-8388-6f4a51be69d5.html