Republicans in Georgia have advanced a bill that would ban some surgical procedures for transgender minors, citing an obligation to protect children from “unnecessary and irreversible medical treatment.”
The state House of Representatives on Thursday passed Senate Bill 140, which would prohibit hospitals and doctors from performing sex reassignment surgeries on minors or prescribing them hormone replacement therapies to treat gender dysphoria. The vote was 96-75 along party lines.
The bill contains limited exceptions for conditions other than gender dysphoria, such as treatment for sex disorders, including “ambiguous genitalia or chromosomal abnormalities,” and has a grandfather clause for minors who began gender-transition care before July 1, 2023, and are “being treated with irreversible hormone replacement therapies.”
Physicians who violate the proposed law would face disciplinary action from the state medical board and could lose their license to practice medicine.
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“As legislators we are charged with protecting our most vulnerable population in the state,” said Republican state Rep. Josh Bonner, the bill’s House sponsor. “Senate Bill 140 does just that by establishing guardrails to ensure that children struggling with identity issues are not rushed into decisions that would alter their bodies forever.”
“Without question, those who struggle with issues of identity, including gender dysphoria, deserve our compassion and our care. No one denies this,” Bonner said. “As a state we have made significant investments in mental health care, and I pray we continue to support any effort to deliver the appropriate care to those whose judgment isn’t fully formed.”
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Democrats spoke out against the legislation. State Rep. Ruwa Romman warned of “unintended consequences” of…
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