ATLANTA – Legislation that would make it illegal for doctors and hospitals to administer puberty blockers to children is advancing through Georgia’s Republican-controlled Senate.
The General Assembly previously prohibited irreversible procedures, including sex reassignment surgery and hormone replacement therapies.
Senate Bill 30 would add bans on the use of reversible treatments and puberty blockers on minors.
Hospitals already risk losing a permit over a violation. The new legislation, which Republican lawmakers pushed through a Senate committee Wednesday on a party-line vote, exposes both hospitals and doctors to the prohibition. The legislation also adds a provision exposing both to lawsuits by parents for violations.
Medical doctors testified for and against the measure, with one saying children aren’t ready to make life-altering decisions and another saying puberty blockers are reversible.
Peter Isbister, the father of a transgender child, said the legislation won’t stop people with resources from outflanking such a law.
“My 11-year-old son will get the health care he needs, I am privileged to say, because I will go to the ends of the earth to make sure that he does,” he said. “Why? Because I love him as you love your children.”
Sen. Ben Watson, R-Savannah, is sponsoring SB 30. The primary care physician said he is concerned about health implications of puberty blockers.
The bill now heads to the Senate Rules Committee to schedule a vote of the full Senate.