Bill banning gender-affirming care for Nebraska minors advances to final round

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A bill that would ban gender-affirming health care for minors advanced to the third round of debate on Thursday.

Senators voted 33-16 to pass Legislative Bill 574.

The Let Them Grow Act, which was introduced by Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha, would prohibit anyone under 19 from receiving gender-altering procedures.

The proposed law will now be debated by senators one more time before it can be signed into law by Gov. Jim Pillen.

“I’m pleased that it’s moving forward,” Kauth said. “I’m pleased that we’re going to get a chance to tweak it a little bit and see what happens to it. It’s been a very long process; we could’ve been doing this much sooner.”

SEE ALSO: Nebraska senators begin debate on bill banning gender-affirming health care for youth

Kauth said the bill is not anti-trans but is about protecting the state’s kids and giving them time to get the counseling they need to figure out what’s going on before making changes to their bodies.

During debate on Thursday, she said a person’s brain doesn’t finish developing until their mid-20s.

Her and other supporters of the bill say this is why kids should not be allowed to make life-changing decisions about surgeries or hormone therapy.

“We need to protect them while they are children,” said Sen. Dave Murman, who represents south-central Nebraska. “The transition or suicide claim, that parents much choose between a live trans son or a dead daughter, or vice versa, is not supported by scientific evidence.”

But Sen. Megan Hunt said that after the last round of debate, calls to the crisis hotline spiked.

“You literally don’t know what you’re talking about,” she told Murman. “Suicidality is reduced by accepting and affirming kids, by loving kids for who they are. By voting for this bill, you aren’t sending a message that you care about these kids. You’re telling the kids you reject them.”

Hunt, whose son is transgender, said senators are “throwing gasoline on the fire” by debating the bill and even introducing it.

In response to the proposed law, she and Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh led a filibuster for several weeks in an attempt to slow the legislative session to a crawl.

SEE ALSO: Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh compares trans bill to genocide in Nebraska Legislature

Before the vote on Thursday, Cavanaugh got emotional and said she would continue to stand up for Nebraska’s LGBTQ youth.

“I will continue to do everything I can for your children,” she said. “And I hope that you know how much you matter and how much you are loved.”