Partial ban on transgender health care for minors passes Georgia House panel

The Georgia House Public Health Committee on March 14 passed an amended version of the bill that would ban most types of gender-affirming care for minors. (Matthew Pearson/ WABE)

Update: SB 140 is scheduled for a vote before the full House on March 16. That day’s session gavels in at 9 a.m. and is available to watch online here.

A Georgia House committee on Tuesday sought to make it easier to sue doctors, and possibly charge them criminally, if they violate a proposed law barring some kinds of gender-affirming care in the state for anyone younger than 18.

The House Public Health Committee voted 12-10 along party lines to pass Senate Bill 140, with majority Republicans passing the measure. The bill, which advances to the full House for more debate, would ban most gender-confirming surgeries and hormone replacement therapies for people under 18. However, unlike laws adopted in some other states, it would still allow doctors to prescribe medicines to block puberty.