Both houses of the Wyoming legislature approved a gender-affirming care ban for transgender youth on Thursday. If Gov. Mark Gordon (R) does not veto Senate File 99, the bill will automatically become law within three business days.
“Like all health care, health care for transgender youth is individualized and based on the needs of each particular person,” the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Wyoming said in a statement. “Senate File 99 …would take away private health care choices around the provision of medical care consistent with prevailing medical and scientific standards. Such choices should be made between a doctor and a patient, not politicians.”
Under this bill, doctors and health care practitioners in the state who administer hormonal therapies and puberty blockers to transgender youth could face suspension or revocation of their licenses.
“This bill puts physicians in conflict. Physicians have a sense of confusion, a sense of despair that we may lose our license just because we’re practicing medicine in the way that we think is properly conducted,” Joseph Horam, a pediatrician in the state, testified in a recent committee meeting. “This is affecting physician recruitment in the state of Wyoming. This will be a factor that says, ‘Well, that’s just one less obstacle I want to take on.’”
According to the ACLU, Wyoming is currently advancing multiple anti-LGBTQ bills in the legislature. In addition to Senate File 99, the legislature has also introduced bills that would “out” LGBTQ students to their parents and prohibit government entities from engaging in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs. While transgender journalist and activist Erin Reed currently lists the state as “medium risk,” for transgender youth, these bills, if passed, would push the state to “high risk.”
“Across the country and right here in Wyoming, lawmakers are sticking their noses into matters they shouldn’t — specifically health care decisions that have been traditionally reserved for parents,” said Antonio Serrano, ACLU of Wyoming advocacy director. “Anytime policymakers spread lies and misinformation about trans people and their medical care, it’s dangerous. We don’t need a law that substitutes the state’s judgment for that of loving parents who are following the guidance of their children and the advice of doctors.”
If Senate File 99 is signed into law, Wyoming would become the 23rd state to bar transgender youth from accessing gender-affirming care, despite gender-affirming care being endorsed by virtually all major medical organizations. In fact, a recent report published by the American Academy of Pediatrics asserts that restricting transgender youth’s access to gender-affirming care “amount[s] to state-sanctioned medical neglect and emotional abuse.”
Research shows that access to gender-affirming care vastly reduces rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation for transgender youth. Additionally, despite far right talking points saying otherwise, a new study found that only 1 percent of transgender youth who receive gender-affirming care later detransitioned, or re-identified with the sex assigned to them at birth.
“The result of legislation like this won’t be that fewer kids grow up to be trans, it will be that fewer kids grow up,” Serrano said.
Unlike mainstream media, we’re not capitulating to Trump.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.
You can help by giving today. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.