Tennessean legislators have taken a major step toward criminalizing sex change treatments involving children.
The bill to outlaw pediatric medical transition in Tennessee was approved by a Senate committee vote of 8-1 on Wednesday. The legislation will be presented to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.
Detransitioner Chloe Cole, now 18, was harmed by the double mastectomy she underwent when she was 15. She claimed, “The physicians were careless from the beginning.” They made me feel like an intelligent, capable adult who could weigh the pros and cons of my options and make decisions that would enhance my relationships, sexual health, and ability to start a family in the future.
It was reported by NewsChannel 5 in Nashville that the Cordell Hull meeting room where the committee met was full. Before Governor Law Lee can examine the bill, it must first pass both chambers of Congress without amendment.
In November of last year, Tennessee Republican leaders William Lamberth and Jack Johnson introduced the Protecting Children from Gender Mutilation Act to prohibit minors from undergoing medical transition. In addition, it would open the door for lawsuits from patients and their loved ones, with a $25,000 fine per violation issued by the courts.
This proposal, according to Johnson, “would make it apparent that administering particular medical treatments may constitute abuse.” The bill’s backers said that these therapies should be treated the same way as the law handles other attempts to damage, impair, or cripple a kid.
Republican lawmakers pledged to pass the measure after a doctor at a Nashville university hospital was caught on tape in September by Daily Wire journalist Matt Walsh calling gender-transition surgeries “big money generators.”
After receiving a letter from Tennessee state officials in October ordering VUMC “stop any irreversible gender change surgery on young children,” VUMC “paused” any gender transition surgeries on minors. VUMC has said that they do about five “gender-affirming” double mastectomy procedures on minors each year as of 2018.
Reporting on “gender-affirming” therapy for children has attracted a lot of attention to the clinics themselves and generated severe ethical concerns regarding the drugs used and procedures performed on minors.
Lamberth said that it is “very immoral and ethically abhorrent” to alter or remove a child’s healthy, normal reproductive organs to change the child’s appearance. The citizens of Tennessee urgently demand that we take decisive action.
Minors in Tennessee who are not mature enough to provide their informed consent on significant life decisions will be protected under House Bill 1/Senate Bill 1.
With the passage of the Protecting Children from Gender Mutilation Act, any child or parent who experiences financial hardship as a result of a medical transition would have the option to file a private lawsuit for compensation. In addition to the obvious benefits, this would also allow a kid to file a legal claim against a parent who supported a medical change.
Within 20 years after the infraction, a healthcare professional who willfully breaks the law is susceptible to a $25,000 penalty. Action may also be taken by the state’s attorney general. The proposed bill mandates that the state’s attorney general set up a system for reporting legal infractions.
Children born with sex dysfunction due to a chromosomal abnormality or other congenital issue are exempt from the bill’s requirements. Hormone treatment or surgical correction can be administered to these minors without the knowledge or consent of their parents.