NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Lawmakers are set to discuss one of the most talked about bills this legislative session. It would ban gender-affirming care for anyone under 18.
This week, the bill is going before two subcommittees: the House Health Subcommittee and the Senate Health and Welfare Subcommittee.
The bill bans all gender-affirming surgeries, medications and hormone treatments for those under 18.
Sen. Jack Johnson, R-Brentwood, who filed the bill, said he thought it was important to get something filed as soon as possible. He said they do not want kids to do irreparable damage to their bodies.
There are some stipulations when it comes to this kind of care in the bill:
(1) The performance or administration of the medical procedure is to treat a physical or chemical abnormality present in a minor that is inconsistent with the normal development of a human being of the minor's sex (a "congenital defect"), or a minor's disease or physical injury. For purposes of this bill, gender dysphoria, gender identity disorder, gender incongruence, or any mental condition, disorder, disability, or abnormality are not a congenital defect or a disease; or
(2) The performance or administration of the medical procedure on the minor began prior to July 1, 2023; provided, that the treating physician must make a written certification that ending the medical procedure would be harmful to the minor and the medical procedure is not different from the medical procedure performed prior to July 1, 2023, when the sole purpose of the different procedure is to enable the minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the minor's sex or treat purported discomfort or distress from a discordance between the minor's sex and asserted identity.
