StateSenator Fred Mills says he has no regrets about voting against a bill to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth despite the criticism he’s receiving from conservatives. The bill failed in Senate Health and Welfare when Sen. Mills sided with Democrats on the committee and voted against the bill to break a tie.
The pharmacist said the legislation restricted a physician from prescribing certain FDA-approved hormonal medications.
“We should not deny the opportunity for a physician with a patient-physician relationship to deny prescriptive authority," said Sen. Mills (R-Parks). "That is very problematic to me."
Sen. Mills also took issue with the bill because if a physician, in a rare instance, prescribe hormonal care for minors, their livelihood would be in jeopardy.
“That doctor’s license would be revoked for two years," Sen. Mills said. "We have never done anything like that."
Mills said he read findings from a study on transgender-affirming care in the state by the Louisiana Department of Health. The study found that the standard of care already doesn’t allow a physician to alter parts of the body of a patient until the age of 18. The study also indicated that only 52 children in 2021 have ever had hormonal treatment in Louisiana. He said the bill would deny those children accessibility because the bill would have banned their ongoing care.
That, he says, also swayed his vote.
“Why as legislators are we trying to become physicians?" Sen. Mills asked. "And I’ve always been consistent in almost every vote I’ve made that a physician and a patient should make that decision."
