INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana House Republicans on Monday approved a bill that would ban all gender-affirming care for minors in the state, sending the measure to Indiana's Republican governor.
The House advanced the ban 65-30 after contentious hearings that primarily featured testimony from vocal opponents. The bill would prohibit transgender youth under 18 from accessing hormone therapies, puberty blockers and surgeries in the state.
“It would cause far less harm for these kids to wait, get counseling and then make these life-altering decisions as adults. Many of the kids rushed down the path of transitioning, have regrets and still live with the pain of their decision. I want to do what’s right for kids,” the bill's sponsor, Rep. Joanna King, R-Middlebury, said.
Opponents of the bill said the most commonly used treatments banned in the bill — hormone therapies and puberty blockers — are often life-saving for trans kids. But supporters of the bill have voiced concerns about those treatments, despite testimony from medical providers who said they are safe and reversible.
“It should not be the role of our government to cast people aside, to make their health care decision for them and to push them further into the darkness. This bill fails every test as it relates to compassion and reasonable leadership,” said Rep. Blake Johnson, D-District 100.
Now the bill goes to Gov. Eric Holcomb, who hasn’t said if he’ll sign or veto it.
When asked about the bill on March 17, Holcomb said “In general, parents not only have a right to their children’s health and well-being, they, in fact, have the responsibility of it.”
Last year, Holcomb vetoed a bill banning transgender students from competing in girls school sports that has since become law after Republican legislators voted to override his action.
All House Democrats, and a few Republicans, voted against the health care bill Monday.
“Telling the world that we did not support the members and families of this vulnerable minority population will do grave harm to those folks but also to our state’s economy,” Rep. Carey Hamilton, D-Indianapolis, said during Monday’s debate.
The ACLU of Indiana issued a statement urging Holcomb to veto the bill. It said, if that doesn’t happen, they’re prepared to fight it on behalf of Indiana’s transgender minors and their families.