Gov. Sanders Signs Law Protecting Children From Malpractice in Sex-Change Procedures

On Monday Gov. Sarah Sanders signed a law that will help protect children from medical malpractice in dangerous sex-change procedures.

S.B. 199 — which is is now Act 274 of 2023 — by Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R – Branch) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) lets a child who undergoes a sex-change procedure sue the healthcare provider who performed procedure if the child suffers any injury as a result.

Act 274 would let a child file a lawsuit if he or she experiences:

  • A physical or physiological injury from the sex-change procedure
  • A psychological or emotional injury from the sex-change procedure
  • An injury from treatments related to the sex-change procedure
  • An injury from the after-effects of the sex-change procedure

Act 274 also outlines informed-consent processes for sex-change surgeries, puberty blockers, and cross-sex hormones, and it contains protections for healthcare providers who decline to perform sex-reassignment procedures.

More and more, scientific evidence shows sex-reassignment procedures are harmful to children.

Research published this year calls into question the original studies that encouraged doctors to give puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children with gender dysphoria.

In 2021 a major hospital in Sweden announced that it would no longer give puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to kids.

Last year the U.K.’s National Health Services closed its Tavistock gender clinic that gave puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children for many years. Families have indicated their children were subjected to sex-reassignment at that clinic despite an obvious lack of scientific evidence in favor of the procedures and inadequate mental health screenings for children with gender dysphoria.

A gender-identity clinic in Scotland faces similar accusations from former patients who say healthcare professionals rushed them into sex-change procedures.

And last July the U.S. Food and Drug Administration finally added a warning label to puberty blockers in America after biological girls developed symptoms of tumor-like masses in the brain.

Act 274 will help protect children, and it will provide them and their families with legal recourse if they are injured by a sex-change procedure.

Good Bill Would Establish Adoption Education Curriculum in Public Schools

A good measure filed at the Arkansas Capitol would help public school students learn about adoption and foster care.

S.B. 384 by Sen. David Wallace (R – Leachville) requires public schools to provide at least one hour of education regarding adoption awareness to students in grades 9-12.

This will help educate high school students about adoption and foster care in Arkansas.

The education provided under S.B. 384 must include:

  • The benefits of adoption to society
  • The types of adoption available
  • The difference between adoption through the foster care system and private adoption
  • The reasons adoption is preferable to abortion
  • Public and private resources and agencies available to assist in the adoption process
  • Statistical data on abortion, adoption, and childbirth
  • Public and private resources available for pregnant mothers and parents enrolled in a public school
  • A description of child and human development.

Promoting adoption and foster care is good for children and families, and it is one way that Arkansans can reduce the demand for abortion.

S.B. 384 is a good bill that will help do that.

House Committee Passes Bad Bill Legalizing Delta-8 THC

On Wednesday the House Rules Committee passed H.B. 1605 by Rep. Jeremiah Moore (R – Clarendon) and Sen. Josh Bryant (R – Rogers).

H.B. 1605 is a bad bill that would legalize Delta-8 THC and other drugs made from cannabis.

Just like marijuana, these drugs impair users and pose a danger to children. That is why several states have passed laws making them illegal.

Instead of prohibiting Delta-8, H.B. 1605 legalizes it for people over age 21.

The marijuana industry did not get its way at the polls last November. Now powerful interests want to legalize a form of recreational marijuana at the Arkansas Capitol.

H.B. 1605 creates a way for wealthy companies to manufacture and sell Delta-8 and other dangerous drugs. The bill’s regulatory framework simply won’t protect kids from being exposed to these drugs.

Lawmakers could pass a measure that would actually restrict drugs. H.B. 1605 takes Arkansas the wrong direction by legalizing these drugs instead.

This measure passed in committee, but H.B. 1605 is not currently on the Arkansas House calendar. We are continuing to oppose this bill and monitor the situation surrounding it.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.