More than two dozen bills targeting transgender and gender non-conforming health care in 11 states have already been proposed for the legislative session beginning in 2023, part of a larger increase in anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and legislation at statehouses across the U.S.
A larger trend: In 2022, at least 15 states restricted access to gender-affirming care through legislation or considered laws that would do so, according to the Williams Institute. Those bills include an Arizona ban on gender-affirming care for LGBTQ youths and an Arkansas law banning gender-affirming care for youths that is currently awaiting a court decision.
What’s new: While legislation targeting gender-affirming care for transgender and gender non-conforming youths was proposed in multiple states in 2022, many of the bills in the 2023 session also target care for LGBTQ adults from 21 up to 26 years old.
What’s at risk: A rise in this targeted legislation has led to an increase in violent threats and harassment against children’s hospitals with gender-affirming care programs. Multiple studies have linked gender-affirming care to reductions in depression and suicide among transgender and gender non-conforming youths, nearly 1 in 5 of whom have considered suicide in the past year, according to a 2022 Trevor Project Survey.
‘CRUEL’ AND ‘DANGEROUS’ BANS:Transgender youths and access to gender-affirming care
What states have introduced transgender health care bans in 2023?
The 11 states that have already introduced bills targeting health care access for transgender and gender non-conforming people are Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia.
In South Carolina and Kansas, legislators have pre-filed bans on gender-affirming care for anyone under the age of 21, and a bill in Oklahoma would ban physicians from administering gender-affirming care to transgender adults who are under 26 years old. A bill pre-filed in Texas would classify the prescription of puberty blockers and hormone therapy to youths as child abuse.
The risks of bans on gender-affirming care
Multiple hospitals across the country that provide gender-affirming care for transgender youths received threats of violence and online harassment in 2022, including Boston Children’s Hospital and Vanderbilt Medical Center’s Clinic for Transgender Health.
Transgender people who wanted and received hormone therapy and/or surgical care had a substantially lower prevalence of suicidal ideations and attempts than those who wanted hormone therapy and surgical care and did not receive them, according to the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey.
Important to note: The legislation also comes as more than 400 openly LGBTQ candidates won races for elected office across the country in the 2022 midterms, surpassing a previous record of 336 set in 2020, according to the LGBTQ Victory Fund, a political action committee dedicated to electing LGBTQ candidates.
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Contributing: The Associated Press
USA TODAY
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