Utah’s Assemblyman Mike Cox: Proposed Senate Measures That Eliminate Gender-Affirming Healthcare and Give School Choice Scholarships to Students Who Choose to Attend Private Schools

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s Republican governor on Saturday signed bills that ban youth from receiving gender-affirming health care and allow families to receive scholarships to pay for education outside the public school system, both measures that are part of larger nationwide movements.

Cox explained in a statement that his decision was based on his belief that it was prudent to pause “these permanent and life-altering treatments for new patients until more and better research can help determine the long-term consequences.”

While we understand the words that we say will be somewhat of a shock to those who disagree, we hope that we can treat our families with more love and respect as we work to understand the science and consequences behind some procedures,” he said.

In a letter to Cox, the civil rights organization said that it was worried about the damage the law would do to people’s lives and medical care.

Days ago, Republican lawmakers in Kentucky passed a bill that prohibits transgender minors from receiving gender-affirming care, allows educators to refuse to refer to transgender students by their preferred pronouns and would not allow schools to discuss sexual orientation or gender identity with students of any age.

The bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Mike Kennedy, a Republican family doctor has said government oversight is necessary for vital health care policy related to gender and youth.

Cox signed a bill that would give school choice style scholarships to students who choose to attend parochial schools outside the public education system. The bill increased teachers’ pay and benefits to address the state’s teacher shortage.

At least a dozen other states are considering similar legislation in what has emerged as a landmark year for school choice battles. The debates have renewed concern about privatization of public education. They could change the relationship between state government and the education system in ways that will make it harder to distinguish between red and blue states.

The Utah measure gives $42 million in taxpayer funds to give scholarships so students can attend private schools. Roughly 5,000 students would receive $8,000 scholarships, which is roughly double the state’s “weighted pupil unit” funding that follows students to their schools. In an attempt to appease staunch opposition from the state’s teachers’ union, the bill also includes $6,000 in salary and benefits for Utah teachers.

“School choice works best when we adequately fund public education and we remove unnecessary regulations that burden our public schools and make it difficult for them to succeed,” Cox said.

The New South Dakota Gender-Affirming Law: It’s Not Okay to Go In a Minor’s State, But It Is Happening All The Time

South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem on Monday signed a bill into law that will ban both surgical and non-surgical gender-affirming treatments for transgender minors in the state.

Doctors could still be able to prescribe medicines to block puberty under the Georgia bill, but Republicans say restrictions on other treatments are needed to prevent children from making decisions they will regret later. The new law will allow minor who are already receiving hormone therapy to continue.

Dozens of leading U.S. medical groups endorse gender-affirming care and it’s potentially life-saving.

The Republican said that they care about children who are struggling with their identities, and want to give them meaningful help, not physical damage.

Some children may decide to use puberty suppression therapy because of gender-affirming care. This part of the process may also include hormone therapy that can lead to gender-affirming physical change. Children aren’t typically done surgery in health care, and some health care providers don’t offer them to be minor.

“Surgeries gone-wrong are simply not happening in South Dakota”, stated Democratic state Sen. LizLarson. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t need the state legislature when I’m in the doctor’s office.”

The American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota issued a statement Monday condemning the new law which it said was a tragic day for thousands of South Dakotans and their families.

The Florida Department of Health, meanwhile, said last April that children who identify as transgender or gender diverse should not be offered any social transition care, while Alabama earlier that same month passed a law making it a felony for doctors to administer gender-affirming care for minors.

The new rules haven’t taken effect yet, but providers and advocates say they’ve already had a chilling impact. Several gender clinics in Florida have shut down.

Parental Rights: A Problem of Dr. Joseph Ladapo and the Treatment of Transgender Males in Gainesville, Fla.

She used they/them pronouns after being assigned a male at birth. Now a seventh-grader in Gainesville, Fla., with a passion for manga and anime video games, and a bedroom filled with stuffed animals, Liz identifies as female and transgender.

After months of counseling, and with a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, Liz started receiving puberty blockers last August. Every three months, she gets a shot of Lupron, a gonadotropin-releasing hormone, or GnRH, that essentially presses the “pause” button on male puberty.

Virginia says she’s seen her daughter light up with gender-affirming care. “It’s fun and exciting for her to be able to be exactly who she wants to be,” she says.

As for existing patients such as Liz, who may want to proceed on to cross-sex hormones (estrogen in her case; testosterone for transgender males), the language of the new rules is vague.

“It doesn’t feel like it’s over, which makes living in Florida really challenging right now,” she says, “because you’re basically being told that your child shouldn’t be able to be who they are, and that it would be better if they didn’t exist in the way that you, medical professionals, and the child who is thriving, feel is best for the child.”

“If it gets too bad, I’m also already thinking about for high school going to a boarding school that isn’t in Florida,” she says, “which would honestly make things a lot easier.”

As he eyes a potential White House bid, the Gov. has made a theme of “parental rights” as he targets the LGBTQ community.

She says it’s a gut punch. “It really is frustrating to hear rhetoric of parental rights used to say that kids shouldn’t have access to treatment because we need to let them be kids.” You’re correct when it’s like that. And guess what? I just want my child to be happy.

But Gov. DeSantis has called the treatment “an example of woke ideology infecting medical practice.” The state’s surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, who was appointed by DeSantis, called the treatments “highly experimental,” “risky and unproven.” The Board of Medicine banned gender-affirming care because it was acting to protect children fromirreversible harm.

The Board of Medicine members that were appointed by Gov. DeSantis have contributed to his campaigns, as reported by the Tampa Bay Times.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2023/02/20/1157493433/florida-bans-gender-affirming-care-trans-kids

FLORIDA BANNS Gender-affirming Care Trans Kids: What Will They Do? A Conversation-Starter for Trans Kids

A doctor at the University of Florida who runs a youth gender program disputes claims that gender-affirming care is risky or experimental.

“There is tons of evidence to back my assertion that this is safe and healthy for children,” she says. “It’s pretty offensive to me, because I pride myself in being someone who always follows the evidence, does the right thing for my patients.”

Dayton worries about her patients, many of whom haven’t yet started on puberty blockers or hormones, and now won’t be able to. People are saying “What are we gonna do when this passes?” as they come to our office. We do not have the answers.

Dayton’s colleague, clinical psychologist Jennifer Evans, says she is “extremely concerned” about what the ban will mean for her patients’ mental health. She points to research showing that medical transition has benefits. “Depression rates go down. Along with that, suicidal ideation and attempts go down,” she says. “Anxiety goes down. The rates of eating disorders begin to go down. Substance abuse rates start to go down.”

The doctor of a trans boy told his mother that he wouldn’t prescribe anything other than the puberty blockers that the boy is currently using. She says that he has said he doesn’t want to go to jail.

She says she would like to be shouting all the time about all of these issues. There’s fear because they don’t know what’s happening in the future and how families will be treated. She says that the state of Texas investigated parents of trans children for child abuse.

She wore a shirt saying “believe trans kids” whenNPR visited her at home. I have a shirt for every day. she says with a laugh. “It’s a great conversation-starter.”

Source: https://www.npr.org/2023/02/20/1157493433/florida-bans-gender-affirming-care-trans-kids

Why’s my kid coming home? Why do we need to go out of Florida? Why are we here? How are we going to make sure we have access to health care?

Sandi’s son River (we’re using his middle name, as he’s not out yet to all of their extended family) started saying he was a boy, and presenting as a boy, when he was about 3 years old.

She says she’s seen her son grow up since he started using puberty blockers. She says that she has a photo of him smiling after he got his first puberty blocker shot. He’s glowing. I felt like he could relax and put his shoulders down.

She wonders if the constant invalidation of who River is is a problem in the current climate. She says that seeing who you are makes you feel less human.

The relentless focus on trans kids is demoralizing for her, as well. “There are some days that you look at everything going on and you are just paralyzed by fear of what’s coming at your kid next,” she says. You can’t show it to your trans child. And it’s exhausting. You know, it’s so exhausting.”

Sandi is on regular calls with other families who have trans kids, many of whom are planning what she calls “escape routes.” They’re considering moving out of Florida to more trans-friendly states.

She and her husband are considering moving to Oregon with their family. It’s hard to think of uprooting their support system.

“The fact that you have to consider re-homing your family to have access to health care in the United States in 2023 is ridiculous,” she says. “I just want my kid to be happy and healthy. I don’t think that’s a lot to ask.

Nikole Parker, director of transgender equality for the LGBTQ civil rights group Equality Florida, has talked with a number of families who are actively planning to leave the state.

“They’re telling you to listen.” The health care for my kid is my number one priority. And there are states who will allow that to happen seamlessly. I am not going to sit here and wait in limbo to see what happens. “

“As a born and raised Floridaan I feel that we need to make sure we stand firm in the stance we take towards our neighbors, regardless of race, creed, religion, sexual preference, or disability,” says Parker. And it just makes me sad to see where we are, because this isn’t the Florida that I was born in.”

Trans advocates will fight the new rules in court. Simone Chriss, director of the transgender rights initiative with the nonprofit public interest law firm Southern Legal Counsel in Gainesville, is among the lawyers who will lead that fight.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2023/02/20/1157493433/florida-bans-gender-affirming-care-trans-kids

Gender Transition Interventions are Experimental and Impossible: Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s Report on a Motion by State Senator Kamala Kamal

It’s hard not to feel that we’re losing on a daily basis. It really does take a toll,” she says. “All we can do is keep fighting.”

Andrew Bailey, Missouri’s Attorney General, said in a news release on Monday that gender transition interventions are experimental, and state law already prohibits experimental procedures in the absence of specific guardrails.

According to Missouri’s secretary of state office, the rule won’t take effect until 10 days after it is filed.

Bailey said Monday that his efforts are aimed at protecting children and that the care is a part of “a woke, leftist agenda” that results in “irreversible consequences.”

Dr. Colleen McNicholas, chief medical officer at the St. Louis Region & Southwest Missouri, called Bailey’s claims “medically false and harmful.”

“I appreciate the many hours of respectful debate and deliberation by members of the General Assembly that resulted in final passage of this bill,” Kemp said in a statement. “As Georgians, parents and elected leaders, it is our highest responsibility to safeguard the bright, promising future of our kids, and that’s one of the reasons why the legislation takes an important step in fulfilling that mission.”

It’s part of a nationwide effort by conservatives to restrict transgender athletes, gender-affirming care and drag shows. Several governors have signed similar bills.

Opponents believe that the new law restricts the rights of parents. The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia said it would “use every legal means at our disposal” to stop the law from taking effect, shortly after Kemp signed it. Judges have — at least temporarily — blocked laws limiting gender-affirming treatment of transgender youth in Arkansas and Alabama.

Opponents say the measure was founded on a desire to open a new front in the culture war and that it attacks vulnerable children and intrudes on private medical decisions.

There was a clause in the bill that shields physicians from criminal and civil liability. That change had been pushed for by conservative groups who want people who later regret their treatment to be able to sue their doctor, although it’s unclear how large that group might be.

The Protest of a Proposed Measure to Eliminate the Risk of Suicide by a Child in a Mass Detainee

The bill was heavily protested against by trans youth and their parents because they said it would further marginalize a group who already take their lives at high rates.

Republicans denied that they wished anyone harm, saying they had the best interest of children at heart and wanted people to be able to obtain counseling.