Despite advice from medical organisations, including the American Psychiatric Association, the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, proposed legislation and a wave of bans attempting to block transgender minors from accessing gender-affirming medical care may put the lives of tens of thousands of vulnerable US youngsters in jeopardy, reports NPR.
Around 150,000 young Americans identify as transgender and more than 54,000 transitioning youth may be affected, NPR reports.
Meanwhile, conservative leaders in six states hope to implement penalties for parents who facilitate minors’ access to gender-affirming medical care. Ten states would also allow so-called bounty hunter lawsuits in which private citizens could file civil suits for damages against medical providers who violated the proposed laws.
But while the wave of Republican-led efforts to block transgender minors from obtaining gender-affirming medical care may be fertile political ground for conservatives in an election year, a recent study shows the bans may risk the lives of thousands of young people.
The report from the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law estimates that more than 54,000 transitioning transgender youth aged 13 to 17 are at risk of losing their access to gender-affirming medical care, even when doctors, therapists and parents concur with the need for those treatments in these cases.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has found that transgender teens have dramatically higher rates of suicide attempts and self-injury, and that adolescents using puberty blockers have have a reduced risk of suicidal thoughts.
Yet, reports the study, in at least three states – Alabama, North Carolina and Oklahoma – lawmakers are pushing legislation that would affect about 4,000 18-to-20-year-olds. The figures are staggering considering that only about 150,000 American youth identify as transgender.
NPR reports that according to the William Institute, which tracks such legislation, as of last Friday (18 March) 15 states have enacted or are considering laws to restrict access to gender-affirming care. That includes bills meant to deny access to hormone therapy and puberty blockers, the latter of which are given to transgender teens and preteens to delay the onset of puberty. Both are treatments that have been vetted and peer-reviewed by mainstream medical organisations.
“In each of these states, the bills would either criminalise healthcare providers who provide gender-affirming care to minors or subject them to discipline from state licensing boards,” the report reads.
NPR reports that at least 50% of those bills aim to restrict gender-affirming care by banning some insurance providers from covering such care and by limiting how state funds and state facilities can be used to provide this type of care.
One of the most extreme measures was passed by the Idaho House of Representatives, which voted to add anti-trans-care language to an existing law banning female genital mutilation. While Idaho Senate leaders decided not to take up the bill, the measure would have made it a felony to perform gender-affirming surgery on transgender youth, and it would have also made it illegal for parents or anyone else to take a minor across state lines for gender-affirming treatment.
The study also notes a new tactic being employed in Texas, where Governor Greg Abbott has circumvented the lawmaking process by issuing an order classifying gender-affirming care as child abuse. He subsequently called on state employees, teachers and doctors to report parents who try to obtain the treatments for their children, threatening consequences for those who fail to report. The Williams Institute estimates nearly 14,000 young people in the state could be affected by the order.
Missouri leaders are also seeking to implement a similar workaround, which could affect some 1,500 transgender youth in the state.
“A growing body of research shows that gender-affirming care improves mental health and overall well-being of transgender people, including youth,” said lead study author Kerith Conron, the Blachford-Cooper distinguished scholar and research director at the Williams Institute.
“Efforts that support transgender youth in living according to their gender identity are associated with better mental health.”
Trans-Youth-Health-Bans-Mar-2022
Williams Institute School of Law report – Prohibiting gender-affirming medical care (Open access)
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Texas sued to block investigations into parents over transgender surgery
Substantial public interest in NZ's proposed ban on LGBTQ conversion
HPCSA and UCT investigate doctor over 'curing' of transgender children
ACP guidelines on comprehensive transgender care
Australia releases guidelines to treatment of transgender children