Arkansas lawmakers override GOP governor's veto of bill restricting transgender health care

Arkansas' Republican-led legislature on Tuesday overrode Governor Asa Hutchinson's veto of a bill restricting health care procedures for transgender youth, regardless of parental consent. Arkansas is now the first state in the country with a law banning gender affirming treatments for people under 18.

The move comes just one day after the Republican governor rejected the bill while acknowledging that state lawmakers would likely overrule him. The Arkansas House voted 71-24 to override Hutchinson's veto, followed by a 25-8 vote in the Senate.  House Bill 1570, known as the Save Adolescents From Experimentation Act, outlaws treatments such as surgery and hormone therapy for transgender minors. The ban extends to people who are already receiving these treatments. The Arkansas legislature approved the measure last month, following a wave of bills targeting transgender people being passed by Republican lawmakers nationwide.