Indiana bill banning gender-affirming care heads to governor’s desk

INDIANAPOLIS (WNDU) - A bill that would ban all gender-affirming care for minors in Indiana is on its way to the governor’s desk.

The Indiana House advanced the ban by a vote of 65-to-30 after lawmakers heard testimony from those opposing the bill. It would ban trans youth under the age of 18 from accessing hormone replacement therapy and puberty blockers, and surgery.

“We intrude during an intimate, desperate time, and we say, ‘Stop. We’ll decide.’ I join these families in their resentment, in their anger, and I say with them, ‘How dare you?’” said one state representative.

“The bill is common sense, public policy to protect Hoosier children from irreversible, harmful, life-altering procedures,” said Rep. Joanna King, R-Middlebury.

Earlier this month, Gov. Holcomb was asked about the bill. At the time, he said, “Parents not only have a right to their children’s health and well-being, they, in fact, have the responsibility of it.”

The bill comes at a time when over 430 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced across the U.S., according to the ACLU.

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