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Arkansas passes bill allowing for LGBTQ+ healthcare discrimination

Rachel Badham February 16, 2021

Lawmakers in Arkansas, US have passed a bill which will allow healthcare professionals to turn away LGBTQ+ patients on the basis of ā€˜personal beliefsā€™. The Medical Ethics and Diversity Act, otherwise known as Senate Bill 289, states that the medical professional in question ā€œis not required to participate in a healthcare service that violates their conscienceā€, meaning LGBTQ+ people could be refused healthcare without the practitioner facing any consequences. The bill was passed in a 27-6 vote.Ā 

Many LGBTQ+ activists have expressed concern over the new regulations, to which Republican senator Kim Hammer, who sponsored Bill 289, responded: ā€œThis bill is about elective things, things you can take time to find a provider whoā€™s willing to offer the service rather than force a provider who doesnā€™t believe in doing it.ā€ The Human Rights Campaignā€™s Arkansas state manager, Eric Reece, told LGBTQ Nation, that the bill ā€œis a blatantly discriminatory attempt to strip LGBTQ+ people of basic rights,ā€ adding: ā€œHealth care should be available to all who need it, not withheld by providers because of hate and fear.ā€

Arkansas is now one of a handful of states which has either proposed or legally implemented laws which limit LGBTQ+ access to healthcare; the majority target trans youth. Alabama is the most recent state to introduce a bill which would prohibit doctors from providing gender-affirming healthcare to trans people under the age of 21. The Human Rights Watch spoke out against the rising number of anti-trans bills in the US, saying in a statement that gender-affirming healthcare is essential for the wellbeing of trans youth: ā€œSuch treatment can alleviate gender dysphoria and postpone puberty to give children time to explore their gender identity…For kids who need them, foreclosing these options is a violation of their bodily autonomy and their right to health.ā€

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