By Andrew DeMillo and Hannah Schoenbaum, Associated Press
Republican-led state legislatures are considering new legislation that would restrict medical care for transgender youth (and in some cases adults), but the issue is poised to pass with a series of high-profile bills and spark lawsuits. It was picked up again the following year.
As Congress begins its work this year, lawmakers in several states are proposing enacting or tightening restrictions on puberty blockers and hormone treatments for minors. Bills were introduced that would regulate the pronouns children can use in school, the sports teams they can play on and the bathrooms they can use, as well as efforts to restrict drug performances and some books and school curricula.
LGBTQ+ advocates say most states that have tried to pass gender-affirming care bans have actually implemented them, and that going forward they should further tighten these restrictions and expand them to include adults. He says he is looking forward to it. With legislative elections scheduled in most states this year, transgender youth and their families fear they will be targeted again by conservatives.
Among them is Mandy Wong, a mother in Santa Barbara, California, who said she was tired of conservative politicians using transgender children as “campaign fuel.” Wong doesn't expect such policies to be passed in Democratic-led states, but she said her children and their friends are emotionally exhausted.
“It was really heartbreaking to tell him…I don't see this situation going away anytime soon,” she said. “The negative attention that transgender children, and even us as parents, are receiving because of these proposals does not seem to have subsided.”
At least 22 states have enacted laws banning the foster care of gender-affirming children, most of which were approved in the past year. Supporters of the ban say they want to protect children and have concerns about the treatment itself. Major medical groups, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, oppose the ban and support such treatments, saying they are safe when administered properly.
Last year's restrictions included a Florida law that made it nearly impossible for many transgender adults in the state to receive gender-affirming care. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis touted the ban as one of his accomplishments as he seeks the Republican presidential nomination.
“We don't know exactly what's going to happen (in 2024) because they're going to stop at nothing,” said Katie Aaker-Lynch, executive director of the Missouri advocacy group PROMO. LGBTQ+ people.
Across the country, challenges to laws already in place are approaching the U.S. Supreme Court. The American Civil Liberties Union asked the court to block restrictions on youth care in Kentucky and Tennessee.
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals is also considering a request by Arkansas to reverse a ruling that struck down the state's first ban on gender-affirming care for youth.
So far, federal rulings against the ban have been handed down by judges appointed by Democratic and Republican presidents.
De Milo reported from Little Rock, Arkansas, and Schoenbaum reported from Salt Lake City. Associated Press writers David Reeve and Summer Valentine in Jefferson City, Missouri, contributed to this report. Margery Beck of Omaha, Nebraska; Sean Murphy of Oklahoma City. and Sophie Austin of Sacramento, California.
