The Arkansas House on Wednesday approved a ban on gender transition procedures, including surgery and hormone therapy, for minors in the state, over opponents who said it was discriminatory and dangerous.
Sponsor Robin Lundstrum, a Republican representative from Elm Springs, equated those treatments to “chemical and surgical” mutilation that children should be protected from, something opponents of the bill and transgender Arkansans and experts in hormone treatments testified at Tuesday’s committee meeting said was untrue.
“These kids deserve love. They are precious ... which is why they should wait until they’re 18” to make a decision impacting the rest of their life, Lundstrum said.
At Tuesday’s committee meeting, Lundstrum said sex reassignment surgery is not currently being performed on minors in Arkansas, but the bill draws “a line in the sand.”
There are gender clinics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Both provide hormone treatment and other therapies.
“These are struggling kids and this bill ultimately is just intended to make life more miserable and discriminate against this very tiny minority of kids,” Rep. Deborah Ferguson, D-West Memphis, said. “These children are being adequately cared for as it is, and this is just a bill to get publicity.”
The 70-22 vote was mostly along party lines, with two Republicans breaking rank and voting no.
Read Wednesday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.