Lawmakers Override Veto of Trans Health Care Ban in Louisiana
Starting in 2024, Louisiana doctors will be prohibited from prescribing gender-affirming treatments to transgender-identifying minors.
Louisiana lawmakers have voted to override a veto of a bill prohibiting minors from accessing gender-affirming care. This makes Louisiana the 20th state with a law on the books officially banning transition-related treatments.
Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards vetoed the measure last month because he believed it would ultimately be declared unconstitutional for singling out transgender youth for disparate treatment and for infringing on parental rights.
The measure received the support of more than two-thirds of lawmakers in the Senate, where Republicans hold a substantial edge, with all Republicans and one Democrat voting to override Edwards’s veto.
The proposed ban passed in the House thanks to the support of seven Democrats who voted with Republicans to override the veto.
The ban will officially take effect on Jan. 1, 2024. However, the law gives doctors a grace period for minor patients who have already started puberty blockers or hormone therapy before Jan. 1 — but only if it is determined that stopping the treatment could harm the patient. That grace period expires on Dec. 31, 2024.
Edwards stood by his decision, predicting that the courts would ultimately find the bill unconstitutional after lawsuits are inevitably filed to block the law from taking effect, reports Baton Rouge-based NBC affiliate WVLA.
“In eight years as a Democratic governor with a Republican legislature, I have issued 319 vetoes. More than 99% of those vetoes have been sustained. Usually, we have been able to find common ground to move Louisiana forward, and I am thankful to the legislature for all the good we have accomplished together. But we have also had profound disagreements,” Edwards said in a statement on Tuesday following the override.
“Just two of my vetoes have been overridden. The first time I was overridden, on the Congressional district map, I said the bill was illegal and I expected the courts would throw it out. The courts have done so. Today, I was overridden for the second time, on my veto of a bill that needlessly harms a very small population of vulnerable children, their families, and their healthcare professionals. I expect the courts to throw out this unconstitutional bill, as well.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana criticized the override.
“Lawmakers who voted to overturn Governor Edwards’ veto of House Bill 648 have chosen to sacrifice the health and safety of Louisiana’s transgender children and undermine the rights of their parents,” the organization said in a statement.
Petrice Sams-Abiodun, the vice president of strategic partnerships at Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, called the ban on gender-affirming care “cruel, dangerous, and likely unconstitutional.”
Two major Republican contenders for governor — State Sen. Sharon Hewitt (R-Slidell) and Attorney General Jeff Landry — praised the override.
“We don’t allow kids to vote, gamble, get a tattoo, buy alcohol or tobacco until they are of age,” said Hewitt. “Why would we allow them to consent to irreversible medical interventions that cause sterilization and have serious physical and mental side effects?”
“We have sent a signal to America that Louisiana intends to strengthen the family unit and to protect children from harmful gender reassignment surgeries,” said Landry in a statement.
Republicans attempted to override two other vetoes of anti-LGBTQ bills.
The first bill would have allowed teachers to refuse to use a student’s chosen name or pronouns based on their personal beliefs, and would have required teachers to out trans-identifying students to their parents. That bill failed to reach the two-thirds threshold needed for an override, falling short on a 67-29 vote.
The second bill, which critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, would prohibit teachers from discussing LGBTQ issues or people as part of classroom instruction or during any extracurricular academic, athletic, or social activities.
Opponents of the measure, including Edwards, expressed concerns that teachers might be accused of violating the law simply by mentioning, in passing, a same-sex spouse — a worry that detractors in other states such as Iowa and Florida have echoed. The motion to override failed by a vote of 68-28.
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