INDIANAPOLIS — Governor Eric Holcomb has said he "won't dither" when it comes to deciding about what he'll do with Senate Bill 480, which would prohibit Indiana doctors from prescribing hormones and puberty blockers to transgender minors.
Several members of Indiana's faith community say they're praying he vetoes the bill, and they came to the Indiana Statehouse on Friday morning to let them him know that.
"Oh, God. How long, my God? My God, why are elected officials forsaking transgender youth?" asked Rev. Sarah Lund, looking above, her hands outstretched, as she stood with dozens of other Indiana clergy outside Holcomb's office, all of them, praying the governor vetoes SB 480.
"We lament that those who have been called to govern who have chosen to use their power to target vulnerable children and youth," said Rev. Sarah Ofner-Seals with Plymouth Congregational Church.
If SB 480 becomes law, doctors would be prohibited from prescribing the medicine, even if their parents consent to it.
Minors already taking either, would have six months to stop, if SB 480 becomes law.
Supporters of the bill believe it protects transgender youth from making decisions they may regret later.
"It's common sense public policy to protect Hoosier children from unproven, irreversible and life-altering procedures," the bill's author, Sen. Tyler Johnson, R-District 14, said in testimony before both the House and Senate.
The clergy who gathered Friday, though, believe it interferes with parental rights to make medical decision for their child.
"We are asking, Oh God, that you convict the hearts of all who aim to deny and degrade the value of human dignity," prayed Dr. Winterbourne Harrison-Jones, senior pastor at Witherspoon Presbyterian Church.
SB 480 passed with overwhelming support in the House and Senate, which both have Republican supermajorities.
Now, those who oppose the bill are watching to see what the governor will do.
"I can't say what the governor's going to do. I hope that he will do the right thing, which is to veto the bill," said Ofner-Seals.
"We pray for Governor Holcomb that you might give him the grace to act in confidence, grace to risk something big, for something good," another clergy member prayed, right before dozens walked into Governor Holcomb's office, singing "This Little Light of Mine," as they handed a letter to the governor's staff.
The letter asked him to veto SB 480.
"We pray, Lord, for your will to be done in this place and in this world. Amen," they prayed before leaving.
Holcomb has until Wednesday, April 5 to do something. He can either sign the bill into law, veto it, or if he does nothing it would become law. If he would veto the bill, lawmakers in both the House and Senate could override that veto with a majority vote.