A Democratic candidate for Congress in Arizona repeatedly voted against legislation protecting children from transgender surgeries and procedures during his time as a state lawmaker, raising questions about his judgment as he campaigns on his medical credentials.
Amish Shah, a former emergency room doctor now seeking a U.S. House seat, opposed a 2022 bill that would have banned doctors from performing transgender surgeries on minors. The legislation, which Republican Governor Doug Ducey signed into law despite Democratic opposition, prohibited removing the breasts of girls who identify as boys and surgeries creating fake genitals for gender-confused children.
Shah’s pro-trans voting record extends beyond surgical procedures. He twice voted against bills to keep males out of female sports, including a 2022 measure that ultimately became law. He also failed to support a proposal ensuring males cannot use female bathrooms in schools.
The former ER doctor introduced his own legislation while serving in the state House, including a proposal to ban so-called “conversion therapy” and make gender identity and sexual preference protected classes. Conversion therapy bans broadly prohibit counselors from helping gender-confused kids feel comfortable in their bodies.
“I hope I can continue to be a great advocate for our state, our district, and the LGBT community,” Shah said shortly after introducing that measure.
Republicans have seized on Shah’s record as evidence he’s out of step with Arizona voters.
“Socialist Amish Shah showed off his far-Left beliefs as a state legislator,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Ben Petersen told The Daily Wire. “Socialist Shah proved he’s too extreme for Arizona and voters will reject his radical, out of touch agenda.”
Arizona voters will have the chance to weigh in directly on the issue this election. A ballot measure would strengthen current law keeping males off female sports teams and ensure privacy for females in locker rooms and restrooms.
Shah’s campaign website makes no mention of how he would vote on transgender issues in Congress. It does, however, highlight his support for abortion, boasting of his 100% “pro-choice voting record” and calling for Congress to pass legislation guaranteeing abortion access.
The Democrat has also championed a government takeover of American healthcare. His campaign describes him as a “proven champion for universal healthcare.”
Shah has criticized America’s healthcare system for being “based on the free market,” saying “there’s a lot of things that are wrong with that.”
“No other industrialized country or first-world country offers health care through a free market because it’s not really a system,” he said in May 2019 at an event with the Phoenix Democratic Socialists of America and the Progressive Democrats of America. To “take the problem and fix it, we need universal, single-payer Medicare for All throughout this country,” he added.
