Tennessee Republicans have advanced a bill to criminalize adults helping minors obtain sex change procedures, puberty blockers, and hormones.
The proposed legislation passed through the Tennessee Senate on Thursday with a 25-4 vote. It will now move to the Republican-controlled House.
Under the law, any adult who “recruits, harbors, or transports an unemancipated minor within [Tennessee] for the purpose of receiving” sex change treatments can be charged with a Class C felony, punishable by three to 15 years in prison.
The law will not apply to a parent or legal guardian of an unemancipated minor or an adult who has permission from the unemancipated minor's parent or legal guardian.
It will also allow parents to sue anyone who violates the law.
The bill uses similar language and guidelines as Tennessee's “anti-abortion trafficking” bill passed by the Senate the day before. That legislation seeks to criminalize adults helping minors obtain out-of-state abortions without parental consent.
Democrats are fighting both proposals.
“We’ve had two bills in two days regulate the types of conversations people can have with each other,” Democrat State Sen. Jeff Yarbro told the Journal-Enterprise. “We shouldn’t be trying to violate constitutional rights and that’s what this is trying to do.”
The report adds:So far, Idaho is the only state in the U.S. that has enacted legislation criminalizing adults who help minors get an abortion without getting parental approval first. That law is temporarily blocked amid a federal legal challenge.
Meanwhile, no state has yet placed restrictions on helping young people receive gender-affirming care, despite the recent push among Republican-led states — which includes Tennessee — to ban such care for most minors.
Instead, some Democratically-led states have been pushing to shield health care providers if they provide health care services that are banned in a patient’s home state.
Currently, there are 17 states and the District of Columbia that have "shield laws" to protect people seeking sex changes for minors from out of state.
“Unfortunately, shield laws have become necessary due to efforts in some objecting states to punish beyond their borders lawful behavior that occurs in Maine and other states,” Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey wrote in a letter about the state's shield law, according to a report from the Associated Press.
If passed, the law will go into effect on July 1, 2024.
