A bill that would allow a person injured by a “gender transition procedure” to bring a civil suit against the medical provider who performed the procedure passed the Arkansas House on Wednesday.
In a 76-17 vote the House advanced Senate Bill 199 to the governor's desk.
The bill's House sponsor, Rep. Mary Bentley, R-Perryville, said the measure is intended to provide minors considering transition procedures with extra time to seek psychiatric care. Bentley raised concerns about the effect of “gender transition procedures” and claimed these treatments lead to higher suicide rates among minors.
Bentley shared the story of Chloe Cole, a teenager who has said she regrets receiving transgender reassignment treatment and surgery. Cole has spoken in favor of bills in other states that aim to limit transgender care.
Supporters and opponents of the bill have disagreed over the results of studies regarding the impacts of gender transition procedures on minors.
National medical organizations, including the American Medical Association, have objected to legislative restrictions on gender-affirming care, saying a majority of patients report improved mental health and lower suicide rates after receiving care.
Rep. Ashley Hudson, D-Little Rock, spoke against the bill, saying that unlike existing medical malpractice laws it would allow legal action against physicians who don't violate standards of care.
"This means a doctor could provide treatment to the patient and do everything exactly right in accordance with accepted medical standards and still have exposure," she said.
Hudson also noted the bill would allow a patient to bring lawsuits against medical providers for up to 15 years after the patient turns 18. Under current medical malpractice statutes, minors with medical malpractice claims have until they reach 19 to bring an action, Hudson said.
The current statute of limitations for most medical malpractice cases in Arkansas is two years, according to state law.
Since state law requires medical providers to keep records for minors for only six years following the conclusion of treatment, Hudson said doctors could find themselves facing lawsuits without access to records related to the case.
The bill defines a "gender transition procedure" as a medical procedure intended to alter "or remove physical or anatomical characteristics or features that are typical for the individual's biological sex." The bill also addresses procedures that seek to instill "or create physiological or anatomical characteristics that resemble a sex different from the individual's biological sex."
Bentley raised concerns that clinics providing transition procedures were creating a "whole cohort of kids with atypical genitals."
When asked in a committee meeting Tuesday how common "gender transition procedures" are in Arkansas, Bentley said she could not say because of the confidentiality of medical records. Opponents of the bill have said physicians in Arkansas are not offering irreversible gender-affirming surgeries.
The bill includes a "safe harbor" section that would provide healthcare professionals with a defense against legal action. Among other requirements, health care professionals would have to document a minor's "perceived gender or perceived sex for two (2) continuous years" and receive the voluntary and informed consent of the minor and their parents before performing a procedure.
For minors who "suffered from a mental health concern," at least two health care professionals, including at least one mental health professional, would have to certify in writing that "the gender transition procedure was the only way to treat the mental health concern."