Bill would ban gender transition procedures for minors

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(The Center Square) - A new bill would ban gender transition procedures for Arizona minors.

State Sen. Mark Finchem, R-Prescott, this week introduced Senate Bill 1095, which would prevent anyone under age 18 from undergoing puberty blockers, cross-sex hormone treatments or any procedure that alters someone’s gender.

All the bill does is push these procedures until someone is an adult, Finchem told The Center Square.

“Adolescence can be a very confusing time for some kids," the senator said. "I want to make sure we are giving our youth time to work through whatever their issue might be before they make a permanent change in their life because it can’t be undone."

According to a 2025 University of California, Los Angeles Law School study, Arizona has 15,700 people between the ages of 13 and 17 who identify as transgender.

SB 1095 would limit taxpayer funds from being used to fund gender transition procedures for minors. Furthermore, the bill would also prevent Arizona’s Medicaid program from reimbursing or covering gender transition procedures.

The legislation provides the ability for minors or their parents to take legal action against medical providers who performed gender transition procedures.

If people have an argument that they were not “properly informed” about the risks of gender transition procedures, then those individuals have a right to a “cause of action,” Finchem said.

Arizona court systems can award damages, injunctions and attorney fees, the bill notes.

SB 1095 allows the Arizona attorney general to take legal action to make sure lawsuits are enforced.

If medical providers are found to have violated SB 1095, they would face disciplinary action for their “unprofessional conduct” by an “appropriate licensing entity or health profession regulatory board," according to the bill's text.

SB 1095 does provide exceptions to when gender transition procedures can be performed on minors, which include situations where they face medical emergencies, are diagnosed with sex development issues and address complications from prior gender transition procedures.

If the bill became law, it would take effect after March 31, 2027, because it would allow minors who are using “puberty-blocking drugs or cross-sex hormones [to] have time for appropriate medication tapering and discontinuation under the care of the minor's physician or other health professional.”

In the past, Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, has taken action to ensure that state employee health plans cover gender transition surgeries. In 2023, she signed an executive order mandating these plans cover medically necessary gender transition procedures.