Hobbs Vetoes ‘Detransitioner Bill Of Rights’ During Pride Month

Hobbs Vetoes ‘Detransitioner Bill Of Rights’ During Pride Month

By Matthew Holloway |

Governor Katie Hobbs, who bedecked the Ninth Floor of the Arizona Executive Tower with the Progress Pride Flag to mark Pride Month, has chosen to also mark the month by vetoing SB 1511. The bill would have required fair treatment for one of the most marginalized groups of all: those who suffer from gender transitions and now seek to reverse the damage, known as ‘de-transitioners.’

Arizona Senator and Vice Chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee Janae Shamp (R-Surprise) proposed the “Detransitioner Bill of Rights” in February, which would guarantee an equality of care and medical coverage for those seeking to reverse so-called ‘gender affirming’ care. On February 22, it was passed by the Senate, and on June 12 was sent to Hobbs after passage in the House. The governor issued her veto six days later with the comment: “This bill is unnecessary and would create a privacy risk for patients,” and no further explanation.

According to Greg Scott, the Vice President of Policy at the Center for Arizona Policy, the bill was a “simple ‘good faith’ bill that levels the health care playing field for a vulnerable population of Arizonans and takes the politics out of medicine and insurance coverage.” In an Op-Ed for the AZ Capitol Times, Scott added, “The purpose of SB 1511 is not to pronounce judgment about the merits or the dangers of gender transition. And it doesn’t. Rather, it does what a law is supposed to do – solve a real problem affecting real people.”

Responding to the veto from Hobbs, Sen. Shamp wrote in a press release, “If doctors are going to block the natural puberty process of children and surgically alter the genitalia of people struggling with gender dysphoria, they must be prepared to undo the damage – as much as possible.”

“And if insurers are going to pay for gender-altering drugs and surgeries, they must also pay for any effort to regain the victim’s God-given identity. My heart goes out to the growing number of people, especially children, who are struggling with their identity and are being pushed into physically altering their bodies as a solution, instead of receiving the mental healthcare they deserve. Shame on Governor Hobbs for sending a message that the institutions tasked with protecting their health and wellbeing have turned their backs on them.”

Shamp added, “I’m fighting for equal treatment for people like Chloe Cole, who traveled to the Capitol from out of state to share her heartbreaking experience of the irreversible damage and regret from attempting to transition into the opposite sex,” said Senator Shamp. “As a child who was confused with her gender identity, she was given puberty blockers and underwent a double mastectomy. She has since detransitioned and struggles with the severe damage left behind. It’s unfathomable that we consider mutilating an undeveloped child’s body as “healthcare,” but what’s even more horrifying is the fact that we deny them access to care when they go on to suffer the mental and physical consequences.”

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Speaking to a press conference on February 1, Cole told reporters, “Everything that I went through did nothing to address the underlying mental health issues I had. My doctors, with their gender theories, thought all my troubles would go away as soon as I was transformed into something that vaguely resembled a boy. Their theories were wrong. I now have two giant scars across my chest that remind me every day that I was butchered by the institutions that we all thought we could trust. The drugs and surgeries changed my body, but they did not and could not change the undeniable reality that I am, and forever will be, a female.”

According to the release, SB 1511 would have “required insurers and providers of gender-altering drugs and surgeries to also provide and cover detransition procedures. This bill would have held health care providers and insurance companies accountable for the damage they cause by prescribing off-label drugs and experimenting on children and adults with irreversible surgeries.”

When asked by AZ Free News if she intends to reintroduce SB 1511 or another bill like it, Shamp said, “Absolutely. This legislation will continue until there is coverage for detransitioners.”

“Will it be run again?” she continued. “Absolutely. It might actually get more robust to include more informed consent with patients who are transitioning. Patients need to know that insurance companies will not cover detransition.”

Matthew Holloway is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.

House Committee Passes Senate Bill Requiring Equal Medical Treatment, Insurance For Detransitioners

House Committee Passes Senate Bill Requiring Equal Medical Treatment, Insurance For Detransitioners

By Corinne Murdock |

On Monday, an Arizona Senate bill requiring equal medical treatment and insurance coverage for detransitioners advanced out of a House committee.

SB1511 passed narrowly out of the House Health & Human Services Committee along party lines, 5-4. Rep. Matt Gress (R-LD04) was absent. The bill would require parity of treatment between those who transition and those seeking to detransition; it wouldn’t compel healthcare providers or insurers to provide their services to detransitioners if their services don’t include gender transitions.

The bill sponsor, Sen. Janae Shamp (R-LD29), said during the committee’s Monday hearing that the state doesn’t currently provide complete care for all who suffer from gender dysphoria. The senator explained that billing and diagnoses codes exist for those undergoing gender transitions, but that none exist for detransitioners. Shamp explained that the bill includes a requirement for data tracking in order to better understand detransitioning rates and quality of care.

“This isn’t about what we believe, this is about taking care of people who need medical coverage,” said Shamp.

Several showed up to testify in favor of the bill. 

David Boettger, a recently retired pediatrician from Salt Lake City and unpaid consultant for the political advocacy group Do No Harm, offered some data on those who transition. Boettger claimed that transgender individuals suffer from 19 times the suicide rate, five times more suicide attempts, 3.5 times more in-patient psychiatric admissions, and 2.5 times for cancer diagnoses. He characterized transitioning as a “ticking time bomb.” 

Another Do No Harm representative, emergency doctor Carrie Mendoza, insisted that SB1511 assured individuals would receive insurance coverage that is critical to access and quality care. Mendoza testified that she handled detransitioners suffering from wound care problems, UTIs, and frequent pain, and that a lack of medical codes for treating detransitioners has caused their issues to go unreported, therefore limiting the healthcare community’s understanding of their needs.

Further testimony came from attorney Martha Shoultz, a representative of the organization Transition Justice. Shoultz testified on how young people who come to her organization have expressed difficulty in finding doctors who can balance hormones. Shoultz testified to the existence of several girls bound in wheelchairs or in need of lifelong medication due to uterine atrophy, and young men who never can have their same sexual functions after transitioning. 

In closing, Shamp emphasized that her bill wasn’t partisan, but rather focused on assisting those left without recourse under the current healthcare system. Shamp said that she had engaged in numerous discussions with detransitioners troubled by doctors not knowing how to take care of them. Shamp said that one Arizonan told her that he would have to move to Israel in order to receive the care he needs.

“I understand that this has become a partisan issue, and I wish it wasn’t,” said Shamp. “That’s not what this bill is. Hear me when I say this is about taking care of all people. This isn’t about whether we agree or disagree on gender dysphoria or transitioning.”

Rep. Selina Bliss (R-LD01) expressed her support for the bill from her perspective as a nurse.

“To help someone with gender dysphoria to a certain point and abandon them, I just can’t sit here silently,” said Bliss. 

Ahead of her “no” vote, Rep. Patty Contreras (D-LD12) read aloud from a coalition of LGBTQ individuals declaring the bill to be an “unnecessary and gratuitous excuse” to delegitimize gender transitions. Contreras’ letter denied the existence of detransitioners, claiming they were forced to detransition due to the harassment and discrimination they faced after transitioning. 

Rep. Sarah Ligouri (D-LD05) said that the legislation constituted “government overreach,” specifically the datakeeping measure within the bill as a registry of individuals who transitioned genders.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2025, the bill would require health insurers and healthcare providers who provide gender transition services to also provide detransition services. Additionally, the bill would require health insurers to submit monthly reports to the Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions detailing the number of gender detransition insurance claims; the age, sex, and state and county of residence of individuals who receive any gender detransition procedures, and the dates of the procedures. The reports wouldn’t include any names or personal information.

The bill would also require state agencies that issue licenses, certificates, permits, or any other official documents to adopt an expedited procedure for detransitioners seeking corrections to their official documents.

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.