Ignoring the warnings of parents, medical providers, and transgender youth themselves, Indiana’s Legislature advanced a bill today that would ban gender-affirming health care for anyone under 18. The bill, Senate Bill 480, is now headed to the desk of Gov. Eric Holcomb.
“Indiana lawmakers seem hellbent on joining the growing roster of states determined to jeopardize the health and lives of transgender youth, in direct opposition to the overwhelming body of scientific and medical evidence supporting this care as appropriate and necessary,” said Katie Blair, advocacy and public policy director of the ACLU of Indiana. “The idea that these youth are being pushed into harmful medical care is an insult to their parents who are working very hard to get the best care for their children. Politicians harm us all when they ignore medical judgment and block access to standard care in favor of discriminatory fear-mongering. Transgender youth in Indiana deserve the support and care necessary to give them the same chance to thrive as their peers. We urge Governor Holcomb to veto this harmful piece of legislation. If this bill is signed into law, the ACLU of Indiana will defend the rights of transgender youth in court.”
Similar measures have been roundly condemned by leading pediatric and public health experts, including the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Similar laws passed in Arkansas and Alabama are currently enjoined by federal courts.
