GOP-led Georgia Senate votes to ban state medical coverage of transgender procedures

ATLANTA — The Georgia Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would prohibit state health insurance plans from paying for medical care related to changing gender.

Senate Bill 39 was adopted by Republicans on a 33-19 party-line vote.

The measure comes after a similar vote last week when the Senate passed a proposed ban on participation of transgender athletes in school sports.

Transgender people aren't doing anything to anyone, said Sen. RaShaun Kemp, D-Atlanta.

"This is just mean-spirited legislation," he said. "This is wrong."

Fellow Democrats contended the bill would harm the economy by causing workers to leave the state and that it would violate the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Sen. Nikki Merrit, D-Grayson, said Republicans will use the bill to distract their constituents from issues that affect them daily, such as the price of eggs. She called it a "cheap political stunt."

However, the chief sponsor of SB 39, Sen. Blake Tillery, R-Vidalia, said he was confident the legislation was what most Georgians wanted.

"What it says is we're not going to spend state taxpayer dollars on these surgeries," Tillery said.

The legislation would prohibit the use of state health benefits coverage for "gender-affirming care." It would also ban state-owned health-care facilities and physicians who work for the state from providing such care.

The legislation defines such care to include hormone therapy and sex reassignment surgery.

Republicans voted down an amendment offered by Democrats that would have carved out an exception for mental health care related to gender identity. Tillery said the underlying legislation would clearly allow such services, but Democrats insisted the language was unclear.