Arizona bill bans gender reassignment surgery for minors

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Senate has voted to prohibit gender reassignment surgeries for minors. Republicans approved the measure in a 16-12 party-line vote on Thursday. Advocates for transgender youth say decisions about health care should be left to children, their parents and their doctors. Supporters of the legislation say teenagers shouldn’t undergo irreversible surgeries. The measure is a scaled back version of an earlier proposal that failed in a Senate committee earlier this month. That version would have banned a broader array of gender-affirming health care, including puberty blockers and hormone therapy.