Trans Medical Care across States

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/10/texas-trans-kids-abortion-lgbtq-gender-ideology/

List of states denying essential medical care to trans youths.

~ conservatives are increasingly imposing government control over sexuality and gender ~  

What happened in Texas?

Feb 2022 - Governor Greg Abbott (R) issued a letter to Texas state health agencies announcing that delivering gender-affirming medical treatment to transgender youths "constitutes child abuse" under state law.

It stipulates that doctors, nurses, and teachers are legally now required to report parents who aid their child in receiving such care to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) and its investigative arm, Child Protective Services.

The directive followed a non-binding opinion by a Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton (R), that some "sex-change" procedures and the prescribing of puberty-blockers to certain children is "child abuse" under Texas law.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has sued Texas to prevent implementation.

A Texas judge has partially blocked enforcement. The ruling was done by District Judge Amy Clark Meachum in Travis County (larger Austin). Paxton later appealed to a state appellate court but the effort was rejected and he said he would take his battle to the Texas Supreme Court.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a statement indicating that denying trans youths health care is discriminatory and illegal under federal law.

What is happening across United States?

More than a dozen state legislatures are considering legislation that could ban access to medical treatment for trans youths. 

It has been a decade of politically motivated anti-trans lawmaking in the US. 

Since 2020, those policies have overwhelmingly targeting trans youths.

Since 2021, nearly 20 states passed bans on trans youths competing in school-sponsored athletics (see map).

In Oct 2021, Texas House Bill 25 was passed which requires public school students competing in interscholastic athlete competitions based solely on their assigned sex at birth.

In Jan-Feb 2022, dozens of proposals were introduced to further restrict access to sports teams, health care, and teachers discussing LGBT+ issues. 

Mar 2022, Iowa House File 2416 passed a law banning trans girls from girls' interscholastic sports teams. Similarly, Indiana House Bill 1041 was also passed. 

https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/sports_participation_bans

 

"Child Abuse" in Texas

https://www.npr.org/2022/02/28/1083235665/transgender-kids-in-texas-face-challenges-accessing-gender-affirming-health-care

February 2022.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott directed the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to investigate parents who allow gender-affirming health care.

They say it falls under a new interpretation of child abuse.

Many transgender kids and their families in Texas may become targets.

The Texas Legislature already tried to ban transgender kids from accessing puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and gender-affirming surgeries with two failed bills in 2021.

Those bills sought to charge parents with child abuse for letting their kids access treatments that the medical community largely agrees can be lifesaving.

Trans kids face higher rates of suicide, anxiety, gender dysphoria, and mental health issues, that could get better after starting hormone therapy.

Now, instead of passing a new bill, they are trying to interpret existing laws in a new way - considering these treatments child abuse, as gender-affirming surgery constitutes (genital) mutilation.

District attorneys in some blue counties will likely refuse to prosecute parents or clinics. While there are yet no real, live people involved, this may force trans kids, already an invisible minority, to hide even further to protect their families from legal actions and allegations of child abuse. 

A study from the Stanford University School of Medicine found that transgender people who began hormone treatment in adolescence had fewer thoughts of suicide, were less likely to experience major mental health disorders and had fewer problems with substance abuse than those who started hormone later in life.

FYI - back in April 2021

https://www.texastribune.org/2021/04/20/texas-transgender-health-care-restrictions/

- House Bill 1399, advanced by the House Public Health Committee, would prohibit health care providers and physicians from performing gender confirmation surgery or prescribing, administering, or supplying puberty blockers or hormone treatment to anyone under the age of 18.  

https://openstates.org/tx/bills/87/HB1399/

- Senate Bill 1311, by Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, advanced by the Senate State Affairs Committee, passed with 18-13 vote and then failed in the House - would revoke the medical license of health care providers and physicians who perform such procedures or prescribe such drugs or hormones to people younger than 18.

https://openstates.org/tx/bills/87/SB1311/