Legislation denying gender-affirming care to inmates in Georgia’s prison system gained final passage in the Republican-controlled General Assembly on Wednesday after state House Democrats walked out of the chamber in protest.
Senate Bill 185, which the Senate’s GOP majority passed last month mostly along party lines, passed the House 100–2 and now heads to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp for his signature. The only two “no” votes came from Democrats Regina Lewis-Ward of McDonough and David Sampson of Albany, who remained in the chamber after their Democratic colleagues walked out as a group.
The bill prohibits the use of state tax dollars to pay for gender-affirming care for inmates, including sex reassignment surgery and hormone replacement therapy.
