Anti-Trans Medical Care Bill Passes Indiana Senate Committee

By Whitney Downard, Indiana Capital Chronicle

February 22, 2023

A bill banning gender-affirming medical care for minors passed a Senate health committee easily on Wednesday, despite nonstop chanting and outrage of opponents.

The bill’s author, Sen. Tyler Johnson, introduced the proposal as a “medical, moral and legal obligation to protect Hoosier children.”

It would ban doctors from providing any “gender transition procedures” to minors. This includes surgery — which testimony showed isn’t happening in Indiana — as well as puberty blockers and hormone treatment.

The Leo Republican, a physician, said the treatments were irreversible, life-altering and unproven. The higher risk for suicide, Johnson said, was likely due to underlying conditions or co-morbidities.

“The physical and mental well-being of Hoosier children is a priority of this legislative body,” Johnson said. “A child cannot understand the weight and permanency of these decisions… how can a child understand the ramifications of this on the rest of their life?”

Sen. Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington, questioned Johnson’s focus on an estimated 0.4% of those who receive gender-affirming care as teenagers and later regret it. The greater portion, 94%, had no issues and another 4% chose to live as nonbinary.

Of the remaining 2%, Yoder said that the majority of those choosing to reverse their gender transition were pressured by their friends and families. Just 0.4% regretted it themselves.

Johnson disputed Yoder’s reported statistics, though he didn’t provide more than anecdotes for his justification.

At times, the testimony against the bill was very emotional and a gathered crowd called out “shame on you” and “save trans lives” throughout the two-plus hours of testimony.

Only one Republican joined the committee’s two Democrats in voting down the bill: Sen. Vaneta Becker, of Evansville.

Becker said she had concerns about the bill infringing on the rights of parents to make medical decisions for their children.

The bill passed 8-3 and now moves to the full chamber.

The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to giving Hoosiers a comprehensive look inside state government, policy and elections. The site combines daily coverage with in-depth scrutiny, political awareness and insightful commentary.