By John Riley on January 22, 2021 @JRileyMW
The Montana House Judiciary Committee voted largely along party lines to approve HB 113, a bill that would prohibit transgender youth from accessing any medical treatments intended to aid in a gender transition and effectively gag doctors from recommending treatments that may be in their patients’ best interests.
The bill, sponsored by State Rep. John Fuller (R-Kalispell), would penalize doctors or nurse-practitioners who prescribe hormones or puberty blockers to transgender youth who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria. Any provider who does so could be fined anywhere from $500 to $50,000 per infraction.
Fuller’s legislation also prevents surgical interventions, even though most doctors specializing in transgender health care already discourage transgender youth from undergoing surgery before 18 except in very rare cases.
What the bill would do, in practice, is not just delay care for transgender youth, but censor medical providers through intimidation. Out of fear of being fined or facing other disciplinary measures, medical providers could refuse to correctly diagnose a child with gender dysphoria, or even acknowledge or affirm a transgender youth’s gender identity.
LGBTQ advocates worry that bills like Fuller’s, which have been introduced in a slew of Republican-led legislatures this year, will simple increase feelings of isolation and suicidal ideation among youth.
According to The Trevor Project’s 2020 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health, more than half of transgender or nonbinary youth have seriously considered suicide, more than 3 in 4 experience extreme anxiety, and more than 2 in 3 experience sever depression.
Research dating back to 2015 has shown that gender-affirming medical interventions, such as hormones or surgery, lowers the incidence of suicidal ideation among transgender teens.
Other factors reducing risk of suicide include greater parental and social support, fewer incidents of discrimination, being recognized according to their gender identity, and having personal identification documents that match their identity.
“HB 113 is based on a basic misunderstanding of transgender youth and the decades of research and medical experience showing that this best-practice medical care is in their best interest,” Sam Brinton, the vice president of advocacy and government affairs for The Trevor Project, said in a statement. “This type of best-practice medical care for transgender youth simply delays puberty until young people are old enough to make their own decisions about their gender identity.”
Brinton added: “This bill aims to take choices away from patients and parents by preventing them from accessing gender-affirming health care, which we know from research can lead to positive effects on body image, overall psychological well-being, and reduced suicidality.”
See also: More than 150 businesses oppose Montana’s anti-transgender bills
A recent national survey conducted by The Trevor Project last year found that over 90% of LGBTQ youth said political trends — specifically anti-LGBTQ actions or legislation — negatively influenced their wellbeing.
According to a Morning Consult poll, three-quarters of transgender youth reported heightened feelings of loneliness and isolation, which typically contribute to depression and suicidal ideation, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last March.
Fuller’s bill now heads to the full House for a vote, where it is likely to pass in the Republican-dominated chamber. In past years, when Montana had a Democratic governor, LGBTQ advocates could rely on a veto to block the bill. But newly-elected Gov. Greg Gianforte, a Republican, amassed an anti-LGBTQ record in Congress prior to his election, and is not considered an ally to the LGBTQ community.
The Judiciary Committee approved the medical intervention bill just a day after approving a measure — also sponsored by Fuller — that prohibits transgender people from competing in sporting events other than those designated for the gender that matches their assigned sex at birth.
Caitlin Borgmann, the executive director of the ACLU of Montana, said both of Fuller’s bills would cause “irrevocable harm” to transgender youth in the state if passed.
“We’re disappointed to see that the House Judiciary Committee is more interested in passing hateful laws than supporting trans youth in Montana,” Borgmann said in a statement. “As these bills move to the floor of the House, we hope lawmakers listen to Montana business leaders, medical professionals and associations, religious leaders, parents, and trans youth and oppose these harmful bills.
“If these discriminatory bills pass — we will sue, and we will win. Trying to defend laws in court that stigmatize and target trans youth doesn’t seem like a good use of taxpayer dollars to us.”
Related:
Mississippi wants to ban transgender people under age 21 from receiving gender-affirming care
South Dakota Senate kills bill to ban medical treatments for transgender youth
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By John Riley on June 12, 2024 @JRileyMW
A federal judge struck down several administrative rules and part of a law placing restrictions on access to gender-affirming care for both minors and adults, declaring them to be unconstitutional.
On Tuesday, June 11, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle, of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, issued an order permanently blocking Florida state officials from enforcing a ban on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender youth.
Florida is currently one of 25 states with such restrictions in place.
Hinkle's ruling also blocks Florida officials from enforcing rules approved by the Florida Board of Medicine and Board of Osteopathic Medicine in order to comply with the law.
By John Riley on July 15, 2024 @JRileyMW
GOP delegates adopted a convention platform ahead of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The new platform, at the behest of former President Donald Trump, walks back some of the previous platform's harsher language on issues like reproductive rights and same-sex marriage.
Trump advisers said they wanted the platform to more closely reflect the former president's stances on various issues.
"This is something hopefully you will pass," Trump reportedly told delegates when he called into a meeting of delegates last week, as reported by The Washington Post. "You will pass it quickly, and we will show unity in our party as opposed to the disaster that is going on with the Democrats.
By John Riley on July 24, 2024 @JRileyMW
Billionaire Elon Musk said his estranged transgender daughter was figuratively "killed" after she received gender-affirming care, prompting him to adopt gender-skeptic and anti-transgender views.
The CEO of Tesla and Space X, and owner of X, was speaking with psychologist and conservative commentator Jordan Peterson as part of a podcast interview.
Peterson asserted that psychiatrists encouraging minors to transition were "contemptible cowards," comparing them to "the Nazis."
Musk agreed, saying that California Gov. Gavin Newsom's stance on transgender issues, including his decision to sign a bill into law preventing school officials from "outing" trans youth to their parents, was part of the reason he was relocating his company headquarters from California to Texas.
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