INDIANAPOLIS—On Wednesday, SB 480—which bans all medical gender-affirming care for Hoosiers under 18—passed out of the Health and Provider Services Committee. State Senator Shelli Yoder (D-Bloomington) offered the following statement:

“This Legislature has decided its newest target is children who are already particularly vulnerable: 30% of people with gender dysphoria will attempt suicide. For reference, that’s about 100 times the rate of the general U.S. population. We know gender-affirming care brings that number back to baseline–it’s literally lifesaving. The total ban set down by SB 480 signals that the majority has not seriously engaged with peer-reviewed science, healthcare providers, or the families and children who choose this care. 

“This bill attempts no scientific understanding, nuance or compassion—it simply legislates trans youth out of existence. In a session we’ve largely devoted to improving healthcare, this is a huge step backward, a slap in the face to the practitioners who overwhelmingly opposed the bill, and a death sentence for members of the trans community in Indiana.”