Tennessee Senate allows lawsuits over transgender ‘coercion’

The Tennessee Senate passed legislation Monday allowing patients to sue their doctor for “coercing” them into seeking gender reassignment some 30 years after treatment.

Republican Sen. Adam Lowe of Calhoun passed Senate Bill 2031 24-5 although he was unable to provide evidence that physicians are persuading people to seek transgender care.

Responding to questions from Democratic lawmakers, Lowe said the law would apply when someone is “de-transitioning” from previous gender treatment “under some sort of premise of wellness that they didn’t achieve.” He explained that a similar private cause of action exists in a Tennessee law enacted three years ago that allows lawsuits dealing with transgender care for minors. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld that law prohibiting gender-affirming care for minors. 

The new measure is different in that it would deal with “coercion” by physicians with a 30-year statute of limitations, but Lowe said the bill does not create a new definition for the term.

Democratic Sen. Heidi Campbell of Nashville said the state has a “negligible” number of people seeking transgender treatment.

“It pains me personally that we spend so much time attacking transgender people in our state,” she said.

Other Democrats argued that the state is creating a “vague” scenario that could lead to discrimination without evidence, creating a category for legal action even though “coercion” relating to other types of medical care could be common.

Lowe countered that declining to take action just because the state doesn’t have a “grasp” on every single incident of “coercion” in the medical profession is “a little asinine.” He added that lawmakers have heard testimony by people who would be affected by the bill.

The House version of the bill received approval Monday in the Judiciary Committee.