Gender-affirming healthcare ban for minors could be resurrected on Senate floor

BATON ROUGE, La. (KALB) - In a 5-4 vote Wednesday, State Rep. Gabe Firment’s bill to ban gender-affirming healthcare for minors in Louisiana died in the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare. The Republican-majority committee killed the bill when Chairman Fred Mills (R-District 22) broke the tie and joined Democrats and voted to involuntarily defer it.

A day later and the LAGOP called on the Senate to discharge the bill from the committee and bring it before the full Senate for a vote.

The Senate, like the House, has a Republican super-majority. The House overwhelmingly voted in support of the bill, passing it 71-24 last week.

The LAGOP expressed disappointment in Mills’ vote and alleged that failing to pass HB 648 “could make Louisiana a destination for such surgeries.”

“I guess I’ve always in my heart of hearts have believed that a decision should be made by a patient and a physician. I believe in the physicians in Louisiana. I believe people that licensed by the Board of Medical Examiners are well-regulated. I believe in the scope of practice. I believe in a standard of care,” explained Mills. “So for that, because I do believe in a physician, and I believe in the right for a family to choose what’s best for them, I vote yes.”

Mills received almost immediate backlash on his vote on social media. According to a report from the Louisiana Illuminator, Mills “was unfazed” by the criticism.

Mills is term-limited and has not announced a run for another office.

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