Arizona bill bans gender reassignment surgery for minors

(KYMA, KECY/ AP News) - The Arizona Senate has voted to prohibit gender reassignment surgeries for minors. 

Republicans approved the measure in a 16-12 party-line vote. The proposal is a scaled back version of an earlier proposal that failed in a Senate Committee, which would have banned a broader array of gender-affirming health care, including puberty blockers and hormone therapy.

Advocates for transgender youth say decisions about health care should be left to children, their parents and their doctors. Supporters of the legislation say teenagers shouldn’t undergo irreversible surgeries.

The bill would ban irreversible gender reassignment surgeries for patients under age 18, except in cases of medical emergency or a verifiable sex development disorder.