More than two dozen transgender and gender-nonconforming physical care expenditures have already been proposed in 11 states for legislative consultation starting in 2023, as part of a larger construction in anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and law in U. S. state houses.
A broader trend: By 2022, at least 15 states have limited access to gender-affirming care through laws or legislation that the Williams Institute says would. These expenses come with an Arizona ban on gender-affirming care for LGBTQ youth and an Arkansas law prohibiting gender-affirming care for other young people who are currently awaiting a court decision.
What’s new: While the law focuses on gender-affirming care for transgender and non-conforming youth proposed in several states in 2022, many expenses from the 2023 consultation also focus on care for LGBTQ adults ages 21 to 26.
What’s at risk: A backlog in this specific law has led to an accumulation of violent threats and harassment in opposition to children’s hospitals with gender-affirming care programs. Numerous studies have linked gender-affirming care to reduced depression and suicide among transgender people and gender-nonconforming youth, nearly one in five of whom commit suicide in the past year, according to a 2022 Project Trevor survey.
‘CRUEL’ AND ‘DANGEROUS’ PROHIBITIONS: Transgender youth and gender-affirming care
The 11 states that have already submitted physical care expenditures for transgender and gender nonconforming people are Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia.
In South Carolina and Kansas, lawmakers have introduced pre-gender-affirming care bans for those under 21, and a bill in Oklahoma would prohibit doctors from administering gender-affirming care to transgender adults under 26. A pre-filed bill in Texas would classify prescribing puberty blockers and hormone treatment in other young people as child abuse.
Several hospitals across the country that provide gender-affirming care to transgender youth received threats of online violence and harassment in 2022, and Boston Children’s Hospital and Vanderbilt Medical Center’s Transgender Health Clinic were added.
According to the 2015 US Transgender Survey, transgender individuals who sought and obtained hormone treatment and/or surgical care had a particularly lower prevalence of suicidal ideation and attempts than those who sought and did not receive hormone treatment and surgical care.
The law also comes as more than 400 LGBTQ applicants won races for midterm elections nationwide in 2022, surpassing a previous record of 336 set in 2020, according to the LGBTQ Victory Fund, a political action committee committed to choosing LGBTQ applicants.
Contribute: The Associated Press