Louisiana's legislature sends ban on gender-affirming care for most minors to Democratic governor's desk

Louisiana's Republican-led legislature Tuesday passed a ban on gender-affirming care for most minors in the state, sending the bill to a Democratic governor who has signaled opposition to the legislation but faces a GOP supermajority with the numbers to override his veto power.

House Bill 648 would bar those under 18 in Louisiana from receiving gender-affirming surgeries, puberty blocking medications and hormone treatments, and would punish health care professionals that provide such care to minors with the revocation of their license for a minimum of two years. The legislation passed the state House Tuesday by a vote of 75-25, after the Senate passed it Monday with a 29-10 majority, which included some Democrats.

"Thanks to the bi-partisan support of the Louisiana State Senate, we are one step closer to protecting children in Louisiana from experimental chemical and surgical sex change procedures," said the bill's sponsor Republican state Rep. Gabe Firment. "The people of Louisiana have made it clear that our children are worth fighting for."

While Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards has said that he "almost never" comments on whether he will veto a bill, he expressed dissatisfaction at a news conference in May with a slate of anti-LGBTQ bills, including HB 648, calling them "damaging" and saying that he did not "think they address any real problems."

"Those are not the issues that I hear about when I travel the state and meet with our constituents and so forth. It appears to be an effort to simply do in Louisiana what we've seen some other states do," he said last month.

CNN has reached out to Edwards' office for comment.

Gender-affirming care spans a range of evidence-based treatments and approaches that benefit transgender and nonbinary people. The types of care vary by the age and goals of the recipient, and are considered the standard of care by many mainstream medical associations.