Georgia’s state Senate passed bill cutting off public funding for gender-affirming care

Georgia Sen Blake Tillery

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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