HEALTH
Arkansas Bans Gender-Affi rming Care for Trans Youth
Lawmakers override GOP governor’s veto; state becomes fi rst to enact such a law
BY MATT TRACY
One day after Governor
Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas
vetoed legislation
that would ban
gender-affi rming care for trans
youth, the State Legislature overruled
him and approved the bill,
making Arkansas the fi rst state in
the nation to enact such a law.
The state’s lower house voted 71-
24 and the State Senate voted 25-8
to override Hutchinson’s veto of the
“Save Adolescents from Experimentation
Act,” which bars doctors
from providing gender transition
related medical care and gives
a green light to health insurance
companies to avoid covering individuals
— regardless of their age —
who seek to receive gender-affi rming
care, according to the ACLU.
The governor announced his
veto at an April 5 press conference
during which he criticized the legislation
as an example of “government
overreach.”
“You are starting to let lawmakers
interfere with health care and
set a standard for legislation overriding
health care,” he said. “The
state should not presume to jump
into every ethical health decision.”
Hutchinson anticipated a potential
override of his veto, though he
expressed hope that GOP lawmakers
would consider re-evaluating
the issue — and he even described
the legislation as “well-intentioned,
but off course.” Instead, lawmakers
vetoed the bill anyway, setting
up major legal challenges.
“Today Arkansas legislators disregarded
widespread, overwhelming,
and bipartisan opposition to
this bill and continued their discriminatory
crusade against trans
youth,” Holly Dickson, ACLU of
Arkansas executive director, said
in a written statement. “As Governor
Hutchinson noted in his veto
message, denying care to trans
youth can lead to harmful and
life-threatening consequences.
This is a sad day for Arkansas, but
this fi ght is not over — and we’re
in it for the long haul.Attempting
to block trans youth from the care
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson vetoed a bill banning gender-affi rming care for trans youth, but
statelawmakers opted to override him.
they need simply because of who
they are is not only wrong, it’s also
illegal, and we will be fi ling a lawsuit
to challenge this law in court.
We are hearing from concerned
families all over the state who are
afraid about the impact of this bill
and others like it. We are committed
to doing all we can to support
these families and ensure they
know how to continue to fi ght for
their rights and get the care and
resources they need.”
The Human Rights Campaign’s
Arkansas state manager, Eric Reece,
also ripped the Legislature’s
actions immediately after lawmakers
blew off the governor’s veto.
“This discriminatory bill, peddled
by national anti-equality extremists,
is a cruel and shameful
way for legislators to score political
points by targeting transgender
youth who are simply trying
REUTERS/GARY CAMERON
to navigate their adolescence,” Reece
said in a written statement.
“Transgender youth deserve to be
included and accepted, especially
as we see an uptick in fatal violence
against transgender people
across the country. We need to end
this epidemic and ensure that all
transgender Arkansans have access
to the life-saving, gender affi
rming medical care they need.”
Human Rights Campaign president
Alphonso David said his organization
“will use every tool at our
disposal” to push back against the
law.
“This is the fi rst law of its kind
anywhere in the country, and it is
immeasurably cruel to the transgender
children who already suffer
from higher risks of anxiety,
depression, body dysphoria, and
suicidal ideation and for whom
those risks will only increase
without medical care,” David said.
“This broadly unpopular bill is
anti-science and dismisses the
medical expertise of a wide range
of child welfare advocates. Arkansas
legislators, against the will of
Governor Hutchinson, are not only
inviting irreparable harm to their
state’s transgender youth, but also
economic and reputational consequences
to all Arkansans. The Human
Rights Campaign condemns
this action by the Arkansas legislature
and will use every tool at
our disposal to fi ght against this
law and for the rights all transgender
youth and their families.”
Melanie Willingham-Jaggers,
the interim executive director of
GLSEN, which advocates for LGBTQ
students in K-12 schools, said
the legislation compounds existing
hardships for transgender youth.
“Transgender youth in Arkansas
already face staggering rates
of discrimination and harassment,”
Willingham-Jaggers said
in a written statement. “Instead of
perpetuating harmful misconceptions
about transgender children,
Arkansas lawmakers, and all leaders,
must do more to ensure the
safety and well-being of transgender
and non-binary youth who are
facing high rates of victimization.
This new attack on transgender
and non-binary young people is a
devastating blow to LGBTQ communities,
but the fi ght is not over.
We will continue to challenge these
cruel attacks, and I’m confi dent
that with the resilience and bravery
of transgender and non-binary
youth leading this fi ght, we will ultimately
see a safer world where all
young people can access healthcare
and be free from barriers to
reaching their full potential.”
It has been a tumultuous start
to the month for the transgender
community in Arkansas. Despite
his veto, Hutchinson recently
signed a bill sidelining transgender
women and girls and some
non-binary people from school and
college sports — and at the April
5 press conference he continued
to use transphobic rhetoric to support
that bill’s passage.
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