Bill banning gender-affirming care for children again stalls in Texas House
AUSTIN, Texas - Democratic lawmakers were once again successful in keeping Senate Bill 14 from a full vote in the Texas House.
It's the bill that prohibits physicians and health care providers from performing sex change surgeries or prescribing puberty blockers to minors unless medically necessary.
A vote in the House is the last step before it goes to the governor's desk.
But for the second time this week, the bill is going back to committee for revision.
It was an interesting afternoon as Democrats tried to delay the second reading of Senate Bill 14 by raising three separate points of order.
It's a legislative tactic meant to kill the bill on a technicality.
The bill once again headed back to the Public Health Committee.
Senate Bill 14 would prohibit trans youth from getting puberty blockers and other hormone therapy needed to transition, care that medical groups say is critical to a population already facing higher risks of depression and suicide than their cisgender peers.
Transgender kids who already access these treatments for gender-affirming care would have to be weaned off in a medically appropriate manner.
The bill would also ban transition-related surgeries, though they are rarely performed on kids.
A majority of state representatives, all of them Republicans, are supporting restrictions that previously passed in the Senate.
Senate Bill 14 banning gender-affirming care for children stalls in Texas House
The bill already passed the Senate. It is on track to pass the House with majority Republican support. But not before the public health committee addressed a procedural mistake that was pointed out by Democrat opponents.
There was some back-and-forth on the House floor between the bill's Republican key author and Democrats.
"Mr. Speaker, I raise an order against further consideration against SB14," State Rep. Joe Moody (D -El Paso) said.
"The point of order has been withdrawn," Speaker Dade Phelan said.
"SB14 is a child protection act aimed at insuring we protect Texas kids from harmful medical experimentation," State Rep Tom Oliverson (R - Cypress) said.
"Mr. speaker, I move to recommit SB14 to the Committee on Public Health," one Democratic lawmaker said.
That committee is set to meet yet again Friday afternoon.
Before SB 14 was even re-introduced Friday, Phelan reminded folks sitting in the gallery about the rules against any outbursts.
This came after several spectators began yelling as SB 14 was being introduced on Tuesday.
The gallery was cleared and a point of order delayed the reading of SB 14 until Friday afternoon.
There have been no issues thus far Friday.
According to Rep. Dustin Burrows, who is the House Calendar's Chair, SB 14 will be debated for a third time sometime next week.