Arizona taxpayers should not be forced to fund radical medical procedures that permanently alter a person’s body. That is the simple principle behind SB 1177, introduced by Senator Wendy Rogers.
SB 1177 prohibits the use of public monies to fund medical procedures performed for the purpose of gender transition. This applies to all public funds, whether at the state, county, city, town, or district level. The bill makes clear that, regardless of any other law, taxpayer dollars cannot be used for these procedures.
Current Arizona law already makes it a crime for public officials to misuse public funds. SB 1177 strengthens that standard by specifically stating that intentionally using public money for gender transition procedures constitutes a misuse of public monies. In other words, this bill makes it clear that taxpayer dollars are not a blank check for controversial medical interventions.
Arizona law defines gender transition as the process by which a person identifies and lives as a gender different from their biological sex, which can involve social, legal, or physical changes. SB 1177 focuses on the physical medical procedures associated with that process and ensures they are not funded by public resources.
Senator Rogers has consistently stood for parental rights, medical integrity, and fiscal responsibility. She believes taxpayers should not be compelled to subsidize procedures that many Arizonans believe are harmful, irreversible, and outside the proper role of government funding.
SB 1177 is about accountability and protecting public funds. In Arizona, taxpayer dollars should go toward core public services that benefit everyone, not toward funding permanent gender transition procedures. Senator Rogers is leading the charge to draw that line clearly in law.
(AZ Free News) Multiple Bills Targeting Gender Transitions Head To Arizona Senate Floor For Vote
Sen. Wendy Rogers (R-LD7), the bill sponsor, explained during Wednesday’s HHS hearing that she discovered taxpayers were funding gender transition treatments for prisoners. Rogers also discovered that individuals were being arrested on purpose in order to receive free gender transition treatments. “Taxpayer dollars should never be used to bankroll irreversible procedures on children,” said Rogers in a later press release. “This legislation draws a hard line and makes clear that public funds will not subsidize experimental or life-altering interventions on minors.”
Read article: https://azfreenews.com/2026/02/multiple-bills-targeting-gender-transitions-head-to-arizona-senate-floor-for-vote/