Arkansas Gov. Sanders signed SB199 (Act 274) creating special malpractice liability for gender-affirming care providers of minors

On March 13, 2023, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed Senate Bill 199 into law as Act 274, the "Protecting Minors From Medical Malpractice Act of 2023." The act creates a dedicated civil right of action allowing a minor, or a representative acting on the minor's behalf, to sue a health care professional who "performs a gender transition procedure on a minor" for any physical, psychological, emotional, or physiological injury claimed to result from that procedure, related treatment, or its after-effects. The law exposes those clinicians to compensatory and punitive damages and lets a patient bring suit for up to 15 years after turning 18 — far longer than the two-year window Arkansas law sets for other medical malpractice claims. [1][4]

The bill was sponsored by Sen. Gary Stubblefield and Rep. Mary Bentley and cleared the Arkansas General Assembly along party lines, passing the Senate on February 21 and the House on March 8 before the governor signed it. State officials described the measure as a private-enforcement mechanism for the 2021 Save Adolescents From Experimentation (SAFE) Act, which had banned hormones, puberty blockers, and gender-affirming surgeries for transgender youth. Rather than regulating malpractice on neutral terms applicable to all care, Act 274 singles out one category of treatment associated with transgender minors for a bespoke cause of action and an extended liability period, disadvantaging the minors who seek that care and the clinicians who provide it. [1][2][4]