[ad_1]
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp was spotted giving his state address on Jan. 25, signing a bill banning most gender reassignment surgeries and hormone replacement therapy for transgender people under the age of 18. Did.
Alex Slits/AP
hide caption
toggle caption
Alex Slits/AP
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp was spotted giving his state address on Jan. 25, signing a bill banning most gender reassignment surgeries and hormone replacement therapy for transgender people under the age of 18. Did.
Alex Slits/AP
ATLANTA — Georgia will ban most gender-affirming surgeries and hormone replacement therapy for transgender people under the age of 18 with a new bill signed by Gov. Brian Kemp on Thursday.
Lawmakers gave final approval to Senate Bill 140 on Tuesday, despite fervent pleas from Democrats and LGBTQ supporters against the most hotly contested bill in Georgia’s 2023 legislature. Kemp signed the bill in private without the ceremony governors sometimes use to celebrate new laws.
“I would like to thank the members of the General Assembly for their many hours of careful debate and deliberation that led to the final passage of this bill,” Kemp said in a statement. Protecting our bright and promising future is our highest responsibility and the SB 140 is an important step in fulfilling that mission.”
It’s part of a national effort by conservatives to limit trans athletes, gender-affirming care and drag shows. Governors of Mississippi, Utah and South Dakota have signed similar bills.
Opponents believe the new law is unconstitutional and violates parental rights. Shortly after Kemp signed it, the American Civil Liberties Union said it would use “everything at its disposal” to prevent the law from taking effect. We will use legal means.” Judges have at least temporarily blocked laws limiting the gender-affirming treatment of transgender youth in Arkansas and Alabama.
Under Georgia’s bill, doctors may be able to prescribe drugs to stop puberty, but Republicans want other treatments to prevent children from making decisions they’ll later regret. The law went into effect on July 1 and says minors already on hormone therapy can continue.
Opponents, however, argued that the move was based on misinformation and a desire to open up new fronts in the culture wars to please conservative Republican supporters, attacking vulnerable children, It claims to intervene in personal medical decisions.
The bill was amended to specifically remove provisions protecting doctors from criminal and civil liability. The change was being pushed by a conservative group who wanted to allow people who later regretted their treatment to sue their doctors, but it’s unclear how big that group is.
Opponents said the measure would hurt transgender children and require doctors to violate medical standards. criticized.
In recent weeks, transgender youth and their parents have been actively lobbying against the bill, with lawmakers further marginalizing groups already prone to taking their own lives at alarmingly high rates. It warns that it is being evaluated.
Republicans don’t want to harm anyone by saying they really care about the interests of their children and want people to be able to get counseling.
[ad_2]
Source link
