A state Senate committee has approved a legislative amendment that would bar children on the state's CHIP program from getting coverage for transgender heath care services.

The bill, HB 1388, was introduced into the House in May with the intention of re-authorizing the CHIP program before it expires in December. The program provides healthcare coverage to children of low-income Pennsylvanian families.

But the bill's path took a contentious turn this week after Sen. Donald White, R-Indiana County, added an amendment that would prohibit the program from covering gender re-assignment surgery or gender transition services, including outpatient hospital visits, counseling, and prescription drugs.

The amendment was approved by the Senate's Banking and Insurance Committee, which White chairs, in a 14-1 vote on Wednesday. The bill is now in the hands of the Senate Appropriations committee.

On Friday evening, in a phone interview, Sen. Lawrence Farnese, D-Philadelphia said the amendment was discriminatory and tainted an important bill that would otherwise have bipartisan support. Farnese was the sole dissenting senator in Wednesday's vote.

"In Pennsylvania, right now, we still discriminate against people for who they love," Farnese said. "We should not take the next step and discriminate against children for who they are."

Farnese said he is hopeful the amendment will be stripped from the bill before it's finalized.

White, the amendment's author, did not respond to a message left with aides on Friday afternoon.

In a statement posted Thursday on his website, White stressed that state funds should not support transgender health services.

"It is completely inappropriate to use state funds to pay for sex change operations for children," White stated. "I believe that is a position that is strongly endorsed by a vast majority of Pennsylvanians."

The bill, prior to White's amendment, passed the House in a 194-0 vote in June.

The following senators voted to approve the bill, as amended, on Wednesday:

Sen. Donald White, R-Indiana County

Sen. John Eichelberger, R-Blair County

Sen. Joseph Scarnati, R-Jefferson County

Sen. Thomas Killion, R-Delaware County

Sen. Daniel Laughlin, R-Erie County

Sen. Thomas McGarrigle, R-Chester County

Sen. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Allegheny County

Sen. Elder Vogel, R-Beaver County

Sen. Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland County

Sen. Gene Yaw, R-Lycoming County

Sen. Sharif Street, D-Philadelphia

Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Northampton County

Sen. James Brewster, D-Allegheny County

Sen. Christine Tartaglione, D-Philadelphia

CHIP provides coverage to 175,000 Pennsylvania children.

Editor's note: This story has been corrected. HB 1388 has been referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee, not the House Appropriations Committee.