The ongoing discussion of "parental rights" in the Indiana General Assembly continued Tuesday in the House Chamber.
House Bill 1407, authored by Rep. Dale DeVon, R-Granger, seeks to define those rights when a child wishes to change their gender identity. Essentially, the bill’s language suggests that, if passed, a child could not be considered a “child in need” if their parents declined their request to take hormonal medication, undergo a medical procedure to alter the child’s sex, or seek counseling and mental health services to affirm the child’s gender identity change, among other constraints.
The ACLU of Indiana has announced its opposition to the bill. In an explanation on its website, the ACLU said there really isn’t a need for the bill: “There simply aren’t examples of Indiana agencies removing children from homes for the sole reason that parents didn’t provide trans-supportive care.”
The bill previously passed the House Family, Children and Human Services Committee along party lines with a vote of 9-4.
In the House Tuesday, Rep. Chris Jeter, R-Fishers, proposed a single amendment to eliminate some wording and “add clarification.” The amendment was adopted, and the bill will receive its third reading later on, when every representative will have the opportunity to discuss and question the bill.
This follows Monday’s passing of HB 1608, also known as Indiana’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which bans schools from teaching anything relating to “human sexuality” to children from kindergarten to third grade. The discussion of this bill brought hundreds of protestors to the Statehouse to advocate for LGBTQ rights in the classroom.