Tennessee bill banning gender-affirming care passes legislature, heads to Gov. Lee's desk

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--The Tennessee General Assembly has voted to pass legislation which bans transgender youth from accessing gender-affirming care.

House lawmakers passed the bill with a 77-16 vote Thursday.

HB0001/SB0001 is sponsored by Representative William Lamberth and Senator Jack Johnson in their respective chambers. Both Lamberth and Johnson were among the first to respond to a video published by conservative commentator Matt Walsh which showed a portion of a meeting at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) discussing transgender treatments.

The video -and others subsequent videos tweeted by Walsh were met with statements from multiple state leaders, including Governor Bill Lee who is likely to sign the bill into law. At the time of the video releases in September of last year, Gov. Lee stated “The ‘pediatric transgender clinic’ at Vanderbilt University Medical Center raises serious moral, ethical and legal concerns. We should not allow permanent, life-altering decisions that hurt children or policies that suppress religious liberties, all for the purpose of financial gain. We have to protect Tennessee children, and this warrants a thorough investigation.” Gov. Lee spoke with FOX 17 News on Thursday morning before the bill's passage, showing his support for the legislation. "Like any piece of legislation I will look at the details when it gets closer to my desk but I’m grateful for the leadership in both houses who have worked to get that done I’m supportive of that for sure.”

However, VUMC also responded to the videos, stating Walsh's tweets "misrepresent facts." The statement reads:

"Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is now the subject of social media posts and a video that misrepresent facts about the care the Medical Center provides to transgender patients.

VUMC began its Transgender Health Clinic because transgender individuals are a high-risk population for mental and physical health issues and have been consistently underserved by the U.S. health system.

We have been and will continue to be committed to providing family-centered care to all adolescents in compliance with state law and in line with professional practice standards and guidance established by medical specialty societies.

VUMC requires parental consent to treat a minor patient who is to be seen for issues related to transgender care and never refuses parental involvement in the care of transgender youth who are under age 18.

Our policies allow employees to decline to participate in care they find morally objectionable, and do not permit discrimination against employees who choose to do so. This includes employees whose personal or religious beliefs do not support gender-affirming care for transgender persons.

The Trans Buddy program mentioned in the video has received national acclaim. Its purpose is to provide peer volunteers who support persons who are seeking highly personal care in an unfamiliar environment, and who may have been refused medical services in the past or avoided seeking them out of fear of being met with hostility."

Walsh also met with Rep. Lamberth and Sen. Johnson, Lamberth tweeting "I'm deeply troubled by what @MattWalshBlog uncovered about the Pediatric Transgender Clinic at VUMC. @GovBillLee is right to call for an investigation and we will support that investigation 100%. This type of child mutilation should be illegal and soon will be in TN."

The topic was made a priority by both lawmakers, each making it the first bill presented during the new session. As with Tennessee's abortion ban law, the bill targets healthcare providers in halting procedures except for in certain circumstances. The bill summary states "Prohibits a healthcare provider from knowingly performing, administering, or offering to perform or administer, a medical procedure for the purpose of enabling a minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the minor's biological sex, or treating purported discomfort or distress from a discordance between the minor's biological sex and asserted identity. Creates an exception for medical procedures used to treat a minor's congenital defect, precocious puberty, disease, or physical injury, or if the performance or administration of the medical procedure began prior to July 1, 2023 and concludes on or before March 31, 2024. Prohibits a person from knowingly providing a hormone or puberty blocker to a minor if the provision of the hormone or puberty blocker is not in compliance with the proposed legislation."

The bill also authorizes a civil cause of action against a healthcare provider or anyone who violates the legislation for 30 years from the date the minor reaches the age of 18.

Human Rights Campaign issued a statement following the passage of the bill, calling it part of a larger "war against the LGBTQ" community.

“This attempt by radical politicians in Tennessee to ban gender-affirming care is only the latest effort in their war against the LGBTQ+ community, especially against transgender kids. This is one of two discriminatory bills making its way toward Governor Lee’s desk this week alone, alongside a bill that would ban drag performances. The state has not only introduced more anti-LGBTQ+ legislation than any other state in this country, but attacks on the fundamental rights of thousands of LGBTQ+ people in Tennessee have been unrelenting for nearly a decade. These extremist lawmakers have intentionally made life harder and more dangerous for trans kids. Gender affirming care is age-appropriate, life-saving, medically necessary care that is only provided after the consent of parents and doctors. We urge Governor Lee not to sign this harmful bill into law.”

The bill passed in the Senate last week by a vote of 26-6. Now that it has passed the House and is supported by Gov. Lee, it is expected to go into effect July 1 of this year.