1. United States
2. Tenn.
3. Letter

Oppose HB 754/SB 676 – Stop the Tracking of Transgender Healthcare I am writing to demand that you vote NO on HB 754/SB 676, the bill that would require doctors to report on transgender healthcare to the state. The Senate passed this bill on April 14, and it now returns to the House for reconciliation. This legislation is a dangerous invasion of medical privacy that targets a vulnerable population. While the Senate added an amendment removing county-level data from public reports, the bill remains deeply problematic. It would still require healthcare providers and insurers to track and report detailed information on gender transition and detransition treatments, including mental health treatment, medical interventions, and surgeries. The state does not collect this data for any other medical procedure or population. Sponsors claim the bill provides transparency about detransition rates. But as Dahron Annelise Johnson of the Tennessee Equality Project noted, the bill "asks for details around prescriptions, around what's discussed in medical visits, around how long somebody has been in treatment." This is an extraordinary intrusion into the doctor-patient relationship. Johnson also pointed out that many cisgender patients receive the same hormone treatments for different conditions—yet only transgender patients are singled out for tracking. The bill also includes a provision prohibiting localities from banning conversion therapy, despite ample evidence of its dangers. This provision alone should be disqualifying. Sen. Raumesh Akbari spoke powerfully against the bill, calling gender-affirming care "life-affirming care" and warning against policies that push vulnerable people toward self-harm. She is right. Protesters at the Capitol have made their position clear through song and peaceful demonstration: "Equal protection is the law of this land." This bill violates that principle by targeting one group for surveillance and data collection. I demand that you vote NO on HB 754/SB 676. Do not let Tennessee become a state that tracks its own citizens for seeking medical care.