Thirty out of fifty states of our country are currently considering anti-trans legislation. Let that sink in. More than half of the United States are currently considering legislation that would make it impossible for transgender people to get the healthcare they need or safely be themselves in their schools. Much of this legislation is focused on children, a particularly vulnerable group.
Florida HB1557, also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, would prohibit classroom discussions about sexual orientation or gender identify in primary schools. Arizona HB2161, which has passed the House, would require all schools to get written permission from parents before teaching students about sexuality or gender. Removing or restricting curriculum about sexuality or gender won’t magically stop gay or trans kids from existing. What it will do is prevent those children from fully discovering and understanding who they are. Many LGBTQ adults say that they felt broken as children because they felt different from their peers and did not understand why; proper education on gender and sexuality would prevent future generations from similar feelings.
Several other bills, such as Missouri HB2735 and Kansas SB484, would ban “biological males” from girls sports. These bills do not specify how biological sex would be determined. This not only limits what transgender children can participate in, but it affects cisgender children as well – what ways can you imagine to determine a child’s biological sex without a birth certificate in front of you? It’s interesting how anti-LGBTQ parents claim they are protecting their children from being sexually abused by keeping LGBTQ literature away from them, when legislation that could easily result in sexual abuse by coaches is on the ballots.
Bills like Tennessee HB2835 and Tennessee SB2696 would ban all trans-affirming healthcare for those under the age of 18. HB2835 would also prevent state funds from going to insurance companies that cover transition-related care and would require that any mandated reporter (i.e. teachers, doctors or therapists) who discovers a child has a gender identity that does not match their assigned sex at birth must inform their guardians in writing. So not only can trans children not receive gender-affirming healthcare, which has been shown to reduce suicide rates in LGBTQ youth, but a child who comes out as trans to someone they trust may wind up being ratted out to their parents.
More attention to these bills was brought last week, when Texas Governor Greg Abbott directed Family and Protective Services in the state to investigate all cases of children receiving gender-affirming healthcare as child abuse. Mandated reporters who do not report the parents of a trans child in Texas would face criminal penalties. Nothing is set in stone, however, and “some county and district attorneys have stated they will not enforce” the directive, according to the New York Times.
To clarify for the uninformed: gender-affirming healthcare for those under 18 does not include a complete transition or surgeries. Instead, it can include therapy or puberty blockers under the supervision of a doctor. Puberty-blocking drugs do carry risks, but the risks are not permanent – the idea is not to transition, but to pause puberty while the child explores their options before deciding whether or how to transition. The longest puberty blocker lasts 24 months, and once someone stops taking puberty blockers they’ll go through the puberty of the sex they were assigned at birth.
Conservatives have fought to ban LGBTQ books and education from schools and libraries, insisting that parents know best and should decide how their children develop. But then they turn around and threaten parents who are deciding how their children develop with child abuse simply because they are helping their child discover their gender identity. So which is it? Do parents get to decide whether to let their kids be trans or not? You can’t have it both ways.
If one of my brothers was to come out to me as transgender, I would want them to be educated, healthy and happy. I would want them to have access to gender-affirming healthcare. I would want them to be able to express themselves at school and at play. I don’t see why that should be controversial.
Trans people are people. Trans rights are human rights. You will not legislate them away.
Categories: Opinion
Leave a Reply