In a significant move, Georgia’s Senate approved two legislative proposals on Monday, intending to restrict gender-affirming healthcare options for minors and individuals incarcerated in state prisons. These actions align with a broader Republican effort across numerous states and reflect some executive orders previously issued by former President Donald Trump, specifically targeting the transgender community.
The first legislative proposal secured a 34-19 vote in favor within the chamber, focusing on prohibiting puberty blockers and most gender-affirming medical care for individuals under 18, including those already receiving treatment. Although Georgia lawmakers implemented a similar ban in 2023 on numerous gender-affirming surgeries and hormone replacement therapies for transgender minors, exceptions were available for those already under treatment. Puberty blockers are currently permissible under this earlier law.
Bill advocate Republican Senator Ben Watson from Savannah expressed that asking minors to make life-altering medical decisions may not be just. “It is not a fair decision to them. It is not a fair decision to the parents,” Watson stated on Monday.
The second legislative proposal, initiated by Senate Majority Whip Randy Robertson and approved by a 37-15 vote, seeks to eliminate most gender-affirming healthcare for individuals held in state prisons.
Previously in the month, the Senate passed initiatives to prevent transgender individuals from participating in school sports and aimed to cease public financial support for gender-affirming care for adults. These four bills now await deliberation in the House.
Critics of the legislation argue that Republicans are politicizing issues involving transgender individuals rather than addressing more immediate concerns affecting Georgians, such as housing and healthcare. They assert that both legislative proposals undermine the rights of transgender individuals and their families in making medical decisions about gender-affirming treatments.
“This body has promulgated bill after bill attacking trans people with the ultimate goal of making trans fols disappear,” claimed Senate Minority Whip Kim Jackson, openly lesbian and a Democrat from Stone Mountain.
Currently, over 26 states have enacted laws that limit gender-affirming treatments for minors. However, many face legal challenges. A study issued in January highlighted that fewer than 1 in 1,000 adolescents receiving commercial insurance during a five-year timeframe were prescribed gender-affirming medications like puberty blockers or hormones.
Democrats, including Jackson, presented an amendment to Watson’s bill suggesting that minors already undergoing treatment should not be forced to halt it, which was eventually unsuccessful.
Senators Elena Parent and Sonya Halpern, Democrats from Atlanta, maintain their support of transgender rights, yet deviated from party consensus by supporting Robertson’s bill due to their belief that taxpayer funds should not finance gender-affirming treatments for prisoners. Parent proposed a failed amendment that sought to protect individuals already engaged in hormone replacement therapy at the time of incarceration.
“I will not let my party be dragged into an argument that makes us look out of touch with the very people we claim to represent,” Halpern remarked.
Later, Democrat Senator Sally Harrell from Atlanta, a mother to two transgender children, voiced her perspective. She emphasized that political discussions, like those around the school sports bill, often overshadow the genuine concerns regarding people’s lives: “And so I came to this well to remind people that we are talking about very real people — parents, children, families.”
Dawson Democrat Senator Freddie Powell Sims sided with both bills. Four Democrats supported the bill concerning the restriction of gender-affirming care for prisoners.
