Editor’s Note (3/30/23): This June 2021 editorial has been republished to highlight the work in progress. Anti-trans laws are harmful and unscientific.
On April 6, the Arkansas legislature passed a law banning transgender youth from receiving gender-affirming medical care. That was not all. At least 35 similar bills (all Republican-controlled states) were proposed or passed before 2021 reached the halfway point, setting a disappointing record. Proponents of these laws argue that such treatments, which typically contain hormones that slow the changes associated with puberty, are unproven, dangerous, and that the law is necessary to protect children. Yes. It’s unscientific and cruel.
The real danger is that trans people will not get the medical care they need.2020 research in the journal Pediatrics Transgender children who wanted hormone therapy but did not receive it were found to be more likely to have suicidal thoughts over their lifetime than children who received “pubertal blockers.” These blockers, known as gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues, are medically safe and their effects are reversible. It has been. In the case of transgender children, they buy young people time to explore their gender identity before their bodies develop permanent secondary sex characteristics such as breasts or Adam’s apples. increase. When ready, adolescents either stop taking their blockers and continue to develop into the gender they were assigned at birth, or take sex-affirming hormones (testosterone or estrogen) to match their gender identity. You can decide to develop the trait.
Anti-trans laws are based on the fear that children will irreversibly change their bodies and come to regret it. But such scare tactics ignore the reality of the majority of people who receive treatment. Current guidelines from the Endocrine Society do not allow these medical interventions to occur before puberty begins. Gender-confirming hormones, usually administered during the teenage years, are used to ensure that patients have a well-documented, sustained, well-documented discrepancy between their gender identity and their physical sex characteristics according to standards of care set by the World Association of Transgender Professionals. Administered only if distress is indicated. health. And when it comes to the more critical stages of genital surgery, the organization stipulates that only adults who have lived continuously for at least one year in a gender role consistent with their gender identity can be selected.
These laws deny people safe treatment when it is already difficult to get it. Many trans people, especially people of color, low-income and homeless people, do not have the funds or support they need to receive care. “If legislators are interested in improving the health of young people, including transgender youth, as they often argue in these discussions, the better use of their time should be all Christina R. Olson, a psychologist at Princeton University who has studied the experiences of transgender youth. wrote: Scientific American opinion essay.
Legislative wars against trans people aren’t limited to bills that limit access to healthcare. According to the LGBTQ rights group Human Rights Campaign, at least 66 proposed laws will ban transgender students from participating in sports teams that match their gender identity, and 15 laws will prevent transgender students from participating in sports teams that match their gender identity. These insensitive regulations are just the latest in a long barrage of Republican attacks on gay and trans people. President Trump’s White House has withdrawn many LGBTQ protections and even refused to approve Pride Month, traditionally celebrated in June.
In contrast, President Joe Biden issued a presidential proclamation authorizing Pride Month and on his first day in office signed an executive order combating discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation at the federal level. These and other acts by the Biden-Harris administration have added much needed protections for the LGBTQ community, but they are just the beginning. Congress must pass the Equality Act, a law that establishes non-discriminatory protections for LGBTQ people in employment, housing, credit, education, and other areas. The bill passed the House in February, but has not passed the Senate as of this writing. And legislators would be better off addressing the many real problems that hurt voters than enacting laws to combat non-existent dangers.
