Malpractice bill restricts trans youth medical care

LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Nearly two years after Arkansas became the first state to enact a nowblocked ban on gender-affirming care for minors, Republican lawmakers are trying to effectively reinstate the ban with a proposal Monday to make it easier to file malpractice lawsuits against doctors who provide such care.

The proposal, which has been endorsed by a Senate committee, would allow someone who received gender-affirming care as a minor to file a malpractice lawsuit against their doctor for up to 30 years after they turn 18. Under current Arkansas law, medical malpractice claims must be filed within two years of what the law refers to as an "injury."

The lawmaker behind Arkansas' legislation, which could go before the Senate as soon as Tuesday, said it's aimed at forcing medical providers to stop offering gender-affirming care to minors.

"The idea that teenagers, let alone little children, are capable of making such life-altering decisions is not only brand new, but it's absurd," Republican Sen. Gary Stubblefield, the measure's sponsor, said. "A society that allows them to do this is a deeply broken society."

The ban prohibits doctors from providing gender-confirming hormone therapy or puberty blockers to anyone under 18 — or referring them to other doctors who can provide that care. No gender-affirming surgery is performed on minors in the state.

The proposal, which other states are considering as part of broader bans on transgender care for children, would be a major change for how most malpractice claims are considered, legal experts said. By expanding the liability that doctors face for providing such care, the bill could make it nearly impossible for some providers to get malpractice insurance.

"For a doctor complying with the standard of care, they could still be held liable, which would be just a huge departure from the way malpractice works," said Stacey Lee, professor at law and ethics at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and the Bloomberg School of Public Health. "Essentially, what's happened is politicians have entered into the practice of medicine. It's almost tantamount to practicing without a medical license."

The move is another avenue for states to restrict transgender care, which GOP statehouse have targeted with dozens of bills this year. A federal judge who blocked Arkansas' ban on gender-affirming care for minors is now considering whether to strike down the law as unconstitutional. A similar ban in Alabama has also been temporarily blocked by a federal judge.

A ban on gender-affirming care signed into law by Utah's governor last month also expands the ability to file malpractice suits against some providers, and a similar provision is included in a ban advancing through Oklahoma's Legislature.

"We are playing a game of whack-a-mole in trying to stop these horrendous and dangerous attacks on people's health care," said Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, counsel and health care strategist for Lambda Legal. "At some point, it needs to stop because the costs are very real."

Opponents of such treatments argue that minors are too young to make decisions about their gender identities. But the bans are opposed by nearly every major medical organization, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, who say gender-affirming care is safe if properly administered.

During the two-hour hearing Monday on Arkansas' malpractice proposal, some exchanges drew gasps and jeers in the committee room. At one point, Republican Sen. Matt McKee asked Gwendolyn Herzig, a transgender woman from Little Rock who testified against the ban, about her genitalia.*

Brodie Johnson • Times-Herald Forrest City Medical Center Auxiliary members Sherry Davis, left, and Dorothy Faulkner arrange sets of sheets on a table this morning in the hospital’s inservice room. The ladies host a linens sale each year to raise money to fund a scholarship for students.