1. United States
2. Ariz.
3. Letter

I urge you to oppose Senate Bill 1014, scheduled for consideration in the Senate Health & Human Services Committee on Wednesday. This legislation, sponsored by Senator Janae Shamp, is a reintroduced version of a bill vetoed last year and represents a dangerous attempt to restrict access to medically necessary care through harassment and intimidation of healthcare providers. SB1014 would force physicians and healthcare institutions that provide gender transition procedures to agree to provide or pay for gender detransition procedures. This creates an unprecedented liability framework designed to discourage providers from offering gender-affirming care in the first place. No other area of medicine requires providers to assume financial responsibility for future treatment decisions patients may make. This is not about patient protection but about creating barriers to care through fear-mongering about liability. The bill fails to define what constitutes a "gender transition" procedure, creating legal ambiguity that will further chill provider willingness to offer care. Many procedures labeled as gender transition are routine medical treatments that cisgender people receive without question, including hormone therapy and various surgical procedures. This vague language could sweep in standard medical care and subject it to discriminatory treatment. The extensive reporting requirements in Section C, mandating monthly submission of patient age, sex, procedure dates, and geographic information to state agencies, create a surveillance apparatus targeting transgender patients. While the bill prohibits including names or identifying information, the combination of demographic and geographic data in smaller counties could easily identify individuals, compromising patient privacy and potentially exposing vulnerable people to harm. Senator Shamp has previously stated her belief that "political ideology" drives gender-affirming care, revealing that this bill is rooted in personal ideology rather than medical evidence or patient welfare. Healthcare decisions should be made between patients, their families, and their doctors, not dictated by legislative interference based on political beliefs. I ask that you vote no on SB1014 and protect both healthcare providers and patients from this discriminatory legislation.