Now.

There was also intense discussion today, and a hearing of the Senate Health Services panel as limits on gender affirming health care got added to House Bill 495, the measure that would undo the current ban on conversion therapy in the state.

Once again, our Mackenzie Spink followed that development and has this report a warning to our viewers.

This story includes mentions of suicide.

Things got heated today in the Senate Committee on Health Services during discussion over House Bill 495.

Mr. chairman, Chris Hartman, Executive Director of the Fairness Campaign.

How dare you all.

Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa.

This is subversion.

Mr. chairman, we're not going to start by yelling at this committee members.

If you I'm going to ask you to step away from the table.

House Bill 495 seeks to undo Governor Bashir's 2024 executive order that banned conversion therapy in Kentucky.

But the most intense discussion of the day was about the committee, substitute added this morning.

It echoed language from House Bill 154, which would disallow Medicaid coverage for gender affirming health care like hormone therapy.

What you have allowed, Mr. Chairman, is a sneak attack on our transgender community without public input.

It's a clever trick.

Serenity Johnson, a transgender Kentuckian, has shared why she believes Medicaid users should have access to gender affirming health care.

It's hard for me to put into words how much access to hormone therapy has helped me, help me become who I am, help me just live my life.

For those on Medicare or Medicaid and who don't have any other recourse, this is denying them necessary health care.

Several people came forward to testify against the bill, including leaders in the mental health and social work communities.

Almost every speaker mentioned that several significant medical organizations oppose conversion therapy, including the American Psychological Association, the American Medical Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Speaking in support of the bill was pastor Nick Spencer from the Family Foundation in Kentucky.

He says if someone seeks out therapy regarding same sex feelings, the government should not limit what that counselor can do for them.

I want to set the scene for you for a moment.

Imagine you have generalized anxiety disorder and you walk into a counselor's office and that counselor says to you, I'm sorry, but I can only affirm your generalized anxiety disorder.

I cannot help you overcome your generalized anxiety disorder.

In the same way, Governor Bashir's executive order that limits the free speech of counselors on the issues of gender and sexuality says that same exact thing.

Mentions of shock therapy and other abusive therapy treatments came up during today's discussion.

Senator Danny Carroll asked Bill's sponsor, Representative David Hale, if he knew whether those practices actually happen in modern conversion therapy.

I certainly never would condone anything that would be some type of a physical harming or showing, pictures or audios of things or videos of things that would would certainly be pornographic.

And in nature is, as I have heard, has been done in the past.

Honestly, I don't think that they are being used today.

I certainly believe that they aren't.

House Bill 495 passed out of the Senate Health Services Committee favorably, with six yes votes and three no votes for Kentucky edition.

I'm Mackenzie Spink.