LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The governor of Arkansas. sarah huckabee sanders has signed legislation making it easier to sue gender-affirming childcare providersa move that could effectively reinstate a blocked ban on such care.
Sanders signed on Monday the new law, which will not come into force until this summer. It would allow anyone who received gender-affirming care as a minor to bring a medical malpractice lawsuit against their doctor up to 15 years after turning 18. Under current Arkansas law, medical malpractice lawsuits must be filed within two years after an injury.
Legal experts have said the change could close off access to gender-affirming care for children by making it nearly impossible for providers to obtain malpractice insurance.
“Arkansas infamously passed the first law in the nation to try to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth and after hearing extensive evidence, the courts blocked that ban,” said Holly Dickson, executive director of the American Liberties Union. Arkansas civilians, in a statement. “This bill is an effort to accomplish indirectly what the Constitution prohibits the state from doing directly.”
The new law is among a growing number of bills targeting transgender people, who have faced increasingly hostile rhetoric in parliaments. At least 175 bills targeting trans people have been introduced in state chambers so far this year, the most in a single year, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
The bill was signed as a federal judge is considering whether to strike down a 2021 Arkansas law that would prohibit doctors from providing gender-affirming hormone therapy or puberty blockers to anyone under the age of 18, or referring them to other doctors who can provide that care. Gender affirmation surgeries are not performed on minors in the state.
Republican Sen. Gary Stubblefield, who sponsored the negligence law, said he did not know if the measure would face a similar court challenge.
“Anything can create a legal challenge in the world we live in today,” Stubblefield said. “I know that we did what we thought was best for our children.”
US District Judge Jay Moody temporarily blocked the state’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors in 2021. Arkansas was the first state to enact such a ban, and several states have passed similar restrictions. A federal judge also blocked a ban in Alabama.
Opponents of such treatment argue that children are too young to make decisions about their future. But every major medical group, including the American Medical Association, supports gender-affirming care for young people and has opposed the bans.
The malpractice legislation includes a “safe harbor” provision that would give doctors a defense against malpractice lawsuits for providing gender-affirming care to children, but only if they follow restrictions that experts say are incompatible with the standard of care for treatments.
The new law will not take effect until 90 days after the Legislature adjourns this year, which is not expected until next month at the earliest.
The bill is one of several aimed at transgender youth that have been proposed in Arkansas this year.
Others include legislation that would criminalize transgender adults using the bathroom that matches their gender identity. The bill goes even further than a bathroom bill that North Carolina struck down after widespread boycotts.
Dickson urged Sanders to listen to trans youth and those who care for them before signing more bills that affect the LGBTQ community.
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