A Louisiana bill that would have prohibited transgender minors from receiving gender-affirming treatment was defeated in the state senate.
The Health and Welfare committee voted 5-4 to defer the House-approved bill, meaning it's likely dead for the session. The panel's Republican chairman, Fred Mills, joined Democrats in deferring the bill.
The action makes Louisiana an outlier among states with Republican-dominated legislatures, which in recent years have passed laws to prevent transgender youth from accessing related healthcare.
The bill's sponsor, Rep. Gabe Firment (R-Pollock) and supporters argued the bill would have protected children from invasive medical procedures before they reach adulthood.
But opponents of the bill counter that gender-affirming care, via hormone therapy and puberty blockers, helps improve the mental health of young people experiencing gender dysphoria, and reduces the risk of suicide in such patients. A Louisiana Department of Health study of records from 2017 through 2021 found no gender reassignment surgeries have been performed on people under the age of 18 in Louisiana in that time.
