This year has seen an array of anti-transgender legislation. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is pursuing policies to restrict transition-related care for transgender minors and to block Medicaid coverage of this care for anyone. In 2022, legislation in 20 states so far has been introduced purporting to “protect” trans youth — by criminalizing care that has been used safely worldwide for decades.
There have been two notable recent victories protecting trans health care. A preliminary injunction in Alabama blocked enforcement of the state’s ban on gender-affirming drug treatments for minors, and the Texas Supreme Court halted a state investigation into one family with a transgender minor prompted by Gov. Greg Abbott’s attempt to treat gender-affirming care as “child abuse.” Although these rulings are important, they cannot counter state legislatures relying on toxic distortions and outright falsehoods about science to push anti-trans policy.
What these legislative efforts ignore is that gender-affirming care is standard medical care, supported by major medical organizations in the United States, including the American Academy of Pediatrics (and its Alabama chapter), the American Medical Association, the Endocrine Society, the American Psychological Association and the Texas Medical Association. These treatments are not experimental.
