Facing furious opposition, a Louisiana House Committee approved a bill Tuesday that would ban nearly all forms of gender-affirming healthcare available to transgender youth in the state.
The bill brought by Rep. Gabe Firment, R-Pollock, passed the House’s Health and Welfare Committee on a 14-3 vote amid an upswing of anti-LGBTQ+ lawmaking in the Louisiana legislature — and nationwide, as lawmakers and conservative interest groups target LGBTQ+ rights in Republican-controlled statehouses.
If signed into law, House Bill 463 would prohibit doctors from performing “gender transition procedures” on anyone under 18 years old.
An amendment proposed during the hearing by Rep. Jason Hughes, D-New Orleans, would have softened the bill to only outlaw gender-affirming procedures in cases where parents don’t consent to their children receiving such care. But the amendment failed, 11-6, and the committee went on to approve Firment’s original measure.
This story will be updated.
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