This year, a provision that prohibits a form of gender-affirming care for minors was added to a bill that would make sure overdose medications are available in municipal buildings, alarming both politicians and activists.
House Bill 1170 was heard in the state Senate Health and Human Services committee Monday afternoon, after being introduced by Sen. Ben Watson (R-Savannah), who chairs the committee. By adding puberty blockers to the list of medical procedures that would be denied to those under the age of 18, a clause added to the bill do build on previous policy that attempted to control gender-affirming care for transgender children.
Puberty blockers are frequently prescribed to trans kids as a treatment for gender dysphoria because they temporarily delay the start of menstruation. The Pediatric Endocrine Society declared that gender-affirming surgery, hormone treatments, and puberty blockers are safe and effective remedies for gender dysphoria, despite Republican senators’ criticism of them.
During the committee conference where he revealed the changes to the bill’s original proposal, which required opioid solutions at courts, colleges, and other state buildings, SB 140, which was passed during the 2023 legislative session, “did allow the use of puberty blockers on a temporary basis until they were 18 for children who wanted to use that with authority of their parents.”
However, he described puberty blockers as a gateway when he introduced his new section of the bill and claimed that transgender children who are allowed to access them “do go on to a sex change operation or surgery, or sex change hormones.” If puberty blockers are not used, the data is showing that about 50% are electing not to pursue that. That’s why, upon reflection, I thought this was appropriate to make it so that minors would not be using puberty blockers”.
At the March 11 committee meeting, Atlanta-based pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Quentin Van Meter, the former president of the American College of Pediatricians, was one of the speakers who came up to testify. He has testified on anti-transgender legislation in states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Texas. However, a Texas judge in 2020 forbade Van Meter from giving evidence as an expert on transgender healthcare issues, and the Southern Poverty Law Center has criticized the American College of Pediatricians as a hate group.
According to Van Meter, “the only true benefit that has been documented in the use of puberty blockers in the gender dysphoric population is that it prevents the body from changing into their biological sex” during his testimony. “That is the only thing it accomplishes. It does nothing at all to improve mental health. That’s an absolute and utter fabrication”.
However, many transgender Georgians and their families have disputed that definition of gender-affirming care.
Asriel Aaron, a 15-year-old transgender boy, was one of the many activists protesting the bill at the state capitol on Wednesday. He began taking hormone replacement therapy shortly before SB 140 made it illegal in 2023, and he was able to continue taking the medication thanks to a grandfather clause that made it possible for minors who had already received HRT to continue taking it.
“Testosterone is helping me not only mentally, but also in a lot of physical ways,” said Aaron. “I believe that having more of a sense of home in my body is one of my biggest advantages,” he says. “I can look at myself in the mirror and see the physical changes, maybe they’re subtle, but they’re still there. And it’s nice to know that I have something that affirms something that actually resonates with me. I feel like me.”
Briana Aaron, Asriel’s mother, expressed concerns about how the bill would impact his ability to access gender-affirming care.
“When you legislate against gender-affirming care, it makes these kids feel like they don’t have the right to exist, that they’re illegal,” she said. “It also emboldens the bullies…. Passing laws like this makes it unsafe to live in for transgender people and children, and it threatens their safety.”
Democratic lawmakers expressed concerns about the committee’s handling of the bill’s presentation.
State Sen. Kim Jackson (D-Stone Mountain), who sits on the Health and Human Services Committee and voted against the bill, said: “For such a controversial bill, to not give any notice and give people who are on the opposing side the opportunity to testify against it is very disappointing and ultimately not good for the Georgian people.” “We would have liked to hear from medical professionals who work in gender dysphoria clinics and who have the opportunity to offer accurate, sound medical advice regarding this bill.”
The Senate floor is expected to hear the bill soon.
