Arkansas Senate Passes Transgender Youth Medical Care Ban

By DANIEL BREEN

A bill banning gender-affirming medical care for Arkansans under 18 is now one step away from becoming law.

The Senate on Monday passed House Bill 1570, which bans transgender youth from obtaining gender transition care, like puberty blockers and hormone therapy. The bill, called the Save Adolescents from Experimentation, or SAFE, Act, would open physicians up to civil litigation and licensure penalties for providing gender-transition related therapies, including surgery, to minors.

Republican Sen. Alan Clark of Hot Springs, a co-sponsor of the bill, presented it on the Senate floor.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/post/arkansas-senate-passes-transgender-youth-medical-care-ban

Advocates for transgender youth, including actress Laverne Cox (top, center), urge Gov. Asa Hutchinson not to approve HB1570 in a news conference held by the ACLU.

CREDIT ACLU / ZOOM

Bill That Bars Transgender Youth From Accessing Transition-Related Care Passes House Committee

By SARAH KELLOGG

A bill that would bar transgender people under the age of 18 from receiving gender transition-related care passed a House committee on Tuesday.

The House Public Health, Welfare and Labor committee by a vote of 13-4 advanced House Bill 1570, which bans any physician or healthcare professional from providing "any gender transition procedures to any individual under 18."

Procedures that are banned include hormone treatment and gender reassignment surgery. Currently, gender reassignment surgeries are not being conducted in Arkansas. The bill also allows the state’s attorney general to bring an action for compliance with the law. 

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/post/bill-bars-transgender-youth-accessing-transition-related-care-passes-house-committee

Rep. Robin Lundstrum, R-Springdale, (left) presents her bill to the House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee.

CREDIT ARKANSAS HOUSE