Culture and Social Issues

Dem Gov Signs Executive Order Mandating Sex Change Coverage For State Employees

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Arizona will require state agencies to provide employees with health insurance coverage for cross-sex medical interventions as well as ban them from supporting so-called “conversion therapy,” according to two executive orders signed by the governor on Tuesday.

“Conversion therapy” refers to practices that attempt to convince lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals to become heterosexual and/or accept their biological sex, while gender transition procedures are medical efforts to alter a person’s body to conform with a gender they seek to become as opposed to their biological sex. These procedures were the focus of Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs of Arizona’s executive orders, which banned the former and mandated the latter by state healthcare providers.

“Together these executive orders bring an end to unjust discrimination against LGBTQ+ Arizonans,” said Hobbs at the signing, in comments reported by AZ Central. “The state is leading by example on this issue, and we will continue working until Arizona is a place where every individual can participate equally in our economy and our workforce without fear of discrimination or exclusion,” she added in a statement.

Arizona Executive Order 2023-12 by Daily Caller News Foundation on Scribd

The executive orders also include provisions that prohibit the state from cooperating with other states that have banned cross-sex medical interventions according to their text. This includes denying extradition requests for those individuals who may face charges for seeking gender transition procedures for their children.

Efforts to combat “conversion therapy,” by contrast, have been adopted by several Democratic-led states at the behest of transgender activists, who have lobbied for such bans. They have often been criticized for having a “chilling effect” on free speech, prohibiting mere conversations with a child to dissuade them from changing their gender.

Arizona had previously banned state insurance plans from covering transgender care procedures in 2017 under then-Republican Gov. Doug Ducey. This ban had been challenged in court by a transgender doctor at the University of Arizona who was seeking funding for his transition, and who argued that the ban on such care violated his civil rights.

Recent filings in the case reveal that the state and the doctor will move to settle the lawsuit, bringing the legal challenge to an end, according to NBC News.

Today, I signed two Executive Orders restoring rights and protecting LGBTQ+ Arizonans. I’m proud the State is leading by example on this issue, and we will continue working until Arizona is a place where every individual can participate equally in our economy and our workforce… pic.twitter.com/q9CuemjV2F

— Governor Katie Hobbs (@GovernorHobbs) June 28, 2023

Conservative groups in the state have been quick to oppose the mandate. “This power grab is not only partisan, but it is unwise and dangerous,” said Cathi Herrod, the president of the Arizona Center for Policy, which has opposed Hobbs’ pro-LGBTQ initiatives, to the AZ Central.

A general ban on transgender medical procedures for children in the state, as well as on biological men from participating in women’s sports, was enacted by the Republican-led state legislature in 2022 and signed into law by Ducey. That law has not been repealed, with the state legislature remaining in Republican control.

Hobbs and Arizona Senate President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope did not immediately respond to a request for comment.