Georgia Sen. Blake Tillery, R-Vidalia, listens to a reporter's question following Senate passage of a bill limiting state funding of gender affirming care on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Deuteronomy 22:5 “A woman shall not wear a man's garment, nor shall a man put on a woman's cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God.
Important Takeaways:
- Georgia’s state Senate on Tuesday passed a bill that would cut off public funding for gender-affirming care for adults, but the future of the legislation remains cloudy in the state House, one illustration of how the Republican-controlled swing state has been slow to join the blizzard of laws targeting transgender people.
- Senators voted 33-19 to pass Senate Bill 39, which would bar state money for gender-affirming care in state employee and university health insurance plans, Medicaid and the prison system.
- The measure was pushed by state Sen. Blake Tillery, a Vidalia Republican, who repeatedly characterized the bill as only affecting gender-affirming surgeries for minors until he acknowledged under questioning from Democrats that it actually covers a broad range of care for adults as well.
- “This bill is saying we’re not going to use state taxpayer dollars to pay for transgender surgeries,” Tillery said.
- If enacted, the bill would put Georgia, which previously partially banned gender-affirming care for minors, at the forefront of restricting funding for gender-affirming care for adults.
- “It doesn’t say if you’re an adult, you can’t have transgender care,” Tillery said. “It says if you’re an adult, you can’t use state taxpayer dollars to have transgender surgeries.”
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