Republicans of Maryland express concerns over Gov. Wes Moore's decision to pass the revisions of current law regarding the coverage of sex change procedures in their taxpayer-funded Medicaid program instead of a law that would stop violence in Baltimore. The new law reportedly removes the age restriction for transgender drugs and operations.
New Legislation in Maryland
Earlier this week, Governor Moore signed several bills into law, including House Bill 0283, also known as the Trans Health Equity Act, KATV News reported. This legislation contained provisions that addressed abortion, transgender rights, the implementation of cannabis reform, the expansion of access to mental health care, and the advancement of climate regulations.
At the bill signing that took place on Wednesday, May 3, Gov. Moore approved a total of 188 legislations and a large number of additional measures into law since he took office in January. However, the governor has not yet signed any legislation that addresses the issue of widespread violent crime in Baltimore, even though Maryland residents have been calling on elected officials to focus on the problem for some time now.
A recent report from CBS News stated that in order to remember 23-year-old Fabian Sanchez-Gonzalez, who was slain while working last week, members of the community, including religious leaders, friends, and family, participated in a march in which they demanded peace and justice in Baltimore City. They have high hopes that the government and the community will realize that the violence must end.
As per The Daily Record, the Maryland Department of Health revealed that the costs for the new therapies included in the bill can range from less than $800 for voice therapy or lessons to $25,000 for some surgical operations and treatments. Before the House of Delegates approved by a vote of 93 to 39 on Thursday, May 4, Republicans presented many amendments to the law. One of these changes would have prevented a physician from "performing irreversible gender reassignment surgery" on a kid under 18. Yet, it was defeated by a vote in the House, which Democrats control.
On the other hand, a survey from the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, found that Maryland was one of 23 states that provided gender-affirming care under Medicaid in 2022. Accordingly, only one in four of the approximately 24,000 transgender persons living in Maryland were enrolled in Medicaid the previous year. Medicaid reportedly paid for the gender-affirming medical care for about one hundred individuals.
Concerns Over Gov. Wes Moore's Decision to Pass the New Law
A report from the Catholic News Agency stated that since their amendments were voted down, the pediatricians are now free to conduct the sex change procedures on minors and prescribe the medications to them so long as they receive permission from at least one parent or guardian.
Republican Delegate Kathy Szeliga said that it is exceptionally tragic that legislators have given their blessing to performing severe and frequently experimental surgeries as well as medical amputation on children younger than 18 years old, and the price is paid for by the taxpayers. In addition, a Republican member of the House of Delegates, Ryan Nawrocki, voiced his concern over the potentially permanent impact these treatments could have on kids.
The scale of these experiments on children has never been seen before in the history of humanity. A few medical community members are researching children using procedures and medications that, in many cases, result in the sterilization of the children. "We are also seeing efforts in Annapolis to exclude parents from mental and physical health treatments given to their children who question their gender," he noted.
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