PHOENIX (LifeSiteNews) – Arizona Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs issued two executive orders this week to mandate coverage of gender “transition” treatments under state employee health insurance while at the same time prohibiting taxpayer funds from going toward providers of counseling for unwanted same-sex attraction.
National Review reported that the first order also directs state agencies not to cooperate with civil or criminal authorities in states that prohibit “transition” procedures, and the second also directs state agencies to craft policies aimed at “protecting” underage LGBT Arizonans from counseling most commonly known as “conversion” or “reparative” therapy.
“Our LGBTQ+ community should never have to face hate and discrimination, and I will do everything in my power to fight for full equality,” Hobbs declared. “The state is leading by example on this issue, and we will continue working until Arizona is a place where every individual can participate equally in our economy and our workforce without fear of discrimination or exclusion.”
“Governor Katie Hobbs should have run for the Arizona Legislature again if she wanted to make law,” Center for Arizona Policy president Cathi Herrod responded. “Arizona lawmakers who represent Arizonans from throughout the state are tasked with passing new laws, not the governor.”
Evidence shows that “affirming” confusion about one’s biological sex carries severe harms, especially when such affirmation takes the form of physically transformative medical procedures. Studies find that more than 80% of children experiencing gender dysphoria outgrow it on their own by late adolescence, and that even full “reassignment” surgery often fails to resolve gender-confused individuals’ heightened tendency to engage in self-harm and suicide — and may even exacerbate it, including by reinforcing their confusion and neglecting the actual root causes of their mental strife.
Opponents of reparative therapy commonly elicit opposition to the practice by invoking outdated, fringe, abusive practices such as electric shock and other forms of physically harmful junk science. But in reality, modern reparative treatment consists largely of simple counseling, the effectiveness of which is backed by studies as well as testimony from those who have benefited.
Conservatives further argue that pro-LGBT politicians and activists exhibit a double standard by opposing verbal counseling aimed at harmonizing one’s mind and desires with their biology while at the same time opposing even age limits on majorly invasive and transformative surgical or chemical procedures.
The new executive orders are just the latest consequence of Hobbs defeating Republican Kari Lake for the governorship of Arizona last year.
The governor’s previous left-wing actions include vetoing legislation to keep critical race theory out of public schools, issuing an executive order requiring state agencies and government contractors to ignore “sexual orientation” and “gender identity or expression” as factors for employment decisions, even if relevant to contractors such as religious foster centers, vetoing conscience protections for COVID-19 vaccine mandates, and vetoing a requirement of basic medical care for infants who survive abortions.