Led by Republicans, the Louisiana House and Senate voted to override Democrat Governor John Bel Edwards’ veto of the “Stop Harming Our Children Act,” which prohibits the state’s doctors from providing gender-reassignment surgeries and treatments to minors.
Gov. Edwards vetoed the bill after both state chambers passed the bill last month, echoing Democrats’ claim that laws requiring minors to wait until they turn 18 to make life-altering changes to their bodies are depriving the healthcare needs of children and putting their lives as risk.
“This bill (H.B. 648) simply protects kids from harm by ending the use of unproven, experimental and irreversible chemical and surgical procedures on children in Louisiana suffering from a condition called gender dysphoria,” the bill’s sponsor, Republican State Rep. Gabe Firment said.
"Governor Edwards’s failed veto shows that he cares more about appeasing special interest groups than protecting children from medical procedures and drugs that physically mutilate and sterilize," Center for American Liberty Executive Director Mark Trammell told Fox News Digital."
The two-thirds threshold required in Louisiana to override Gov. Edwards’ veto was reached in the state’s House, by a 75-23 vote, and in its Senate, by a 28-11 margin. Having been denied by legitimate legislative process, transgender activists now appear poised to challenge the “Stop Harming Our Children Act” in court.