The Tennessee Senate voted on Monday to pass a measure that would prohibit gender-affirming care for transgender minors. This move has prompted civil rights groups to vow an immediate lawsuit if and when the measure becomes law. The bill proposes that doctors would be prohibited from providing gender-affirming care to anyone below 18 years of age, which includes prescribing puberty blockers and hormones. The legislation spells out some exceptions, including allowing doctors to perform these medical services if the patient’s care had begun prior to July 1, 2023. The bill then states that care must end by March 31, 2024.
The push in Tennessee is in line with state lawmakers from across the US who are advancing attacks on gender-affirming medical care for young people. Comparable bills are being advanced in Nebraska, Oklahoma, and South Dakota. In Utah, a Republican governor recently signed a ban into law. Judges have temporarily blocked similar laws in Arkansas and Alabama.
Tennessee has been at the center of the conflict since video surfaced on social media last year of a Nashville doctor touting that gender-affirming procedures are “huge money makers” for hospitals. This video prompted calls from Republican leaders in the state for an investigation into Vanderbilt University Medical Center, but to date, it is unclear whether any authorities have done so.