FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 18, 2024
PHOENIX, ARIZONA— Governor Katie Hobbs is aiding doctors and insurance companies taking advantage of a vulnerable population by vetoing SB 1511 today, which would have ensured equal healthcare treatment for children and adults suffering from the lifelong consequences of gender-altering drugs.
SB 1511, sponsored by Senator Janae Shamp, would have required insurers and providers of gender-altering drugs and surgeries to also provide and cover detransition procedures. This bill would have held health care providers and insurance companies accountable for the damage they cause by prescribing off-label drugs and experimenting on children and adults with irreversible surgeries.
"If doctors are going to block the natural puberty process of children and surgically alter the genitalia of people struggling with gender dysphoria, they must be prepared to undo the damage – as much as possible," said Senator Shamp. "And if insurers are going to pay for gender-altering drugs and surgeries, they must also pay for any effort to regain the victim’s God-given identity. My heart goes out to the growing number of people, especially children, who are struggling with their identity and are being pushed into physically altering their bodies as a solution, instead of receiving the mental healthcare they deserve. Shame on Governor Hobbs for sending a message that the institutions tasked with protecting their health and wellbeing have turned their backs on them.”"I'm fighting for equal treatment for people like Chloe Cole, who traveled to the Capitol from out of state to share her heartbreaking experience of the irreversible damage and regret from attempting to transition into the opposite sex," said Senator Shamp. "As a child who was confused with her gender identity, she was given puberty blockers and underwent a double mastectomy. She has since detransitioned and struggles with the severe damage left behind. It's unfathomable that we consider mutilating an undeveloped child's body as "healthcare," but what's even more horrifying is the fact that we deny them access to care when they go on to suffer the mental and physical consequences."
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For more information, contact:
Kim Quintero
Director of Communications | Arizona State Senate Republican Caucus