Arizona Republican breaks with party to block transgender health care ban

An Arizona Republican state senator broke with his party this week, blocking legislation that would have banned gender-affirming care for transgender youth.

State Sen. Tyler Pace voted Wednesday with three Democrats on the Arizona Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee, splitting the vote 4-4 and effectively killing the bill. Pace said that while he sees "both sides," he was ultimately swayed by personal stories from LGBTQ youths and their families.

"The testimonies we heard today about the many people who are using these avenues of medical treatments to save lives, to improve lives," he said during the committee hearing, "I don't want my vote to stop those great things."