Global Endocrinologists Society To Review Gender Care Guidelines
The Endocrine Society said its move was mere routine, and not prompted by politics — with high-profile efforts by some U.S. states to limit gender-affirming care. The process is set to take three years. Meanwhile, the VA says it won't cover gender care for vets until it reviews PACT Act implications.
CNN:
Major Medical Society Re-Examines Clinical Guidelines For Gender-Affirming Care
The major global medical association for endocrinologists will review its clinical guidelines for gender-affirming care, the Endocrine Society told CNN on Monday. Despite recent moves by some US states to restrict or ban such care, the society said it’s a routine update that was not prompted by politics. The society’s guidelines help the organization’s 18,000 members – doctors, nurses, educators and students who focus on hormone-related health – determine the best practices to provide appropriate care for people who are transgender and gender-diverse. The organization said it will take about three years for the guidelines to come together. (Christensen, 2/26)
Military.com:
VA Won't Cover Gender-Affirmation Surgery For Transgender Veterans Until It Reviews PACT Act Effects
The Department of Veterans Affairs will not move forward with covering gender-affirmation surgery for transgender veterans while it studies the effects of a sweeping law that expanded VA eligibility to millions of veterans, VA Secretary Denis McDonough confirmed Monday. McDonough did not rule out proceeding with covering gender-affirmation surgery after the PACT Act analysis is done. But the move further delays the availability of a treatment that transgender veterans have been eagerly anticipating since McDonough first announced the VA would provide it two and a half years ago -- a year before the PACT Act became law. (Kheel, 2/26)
AP:
West Virginia Medical Professionals Condemn Bill That Prohibits Care To At-Risk Transgender Youth
Hundreds of medical professionals in West Virginia have signed a letter condemning a bill advancing in the House of Delegates that would bar transgender youth at risk for suicide from accessing medical interventions such as hormone therapy. The bill before the full House would completely ban minors’ access to hormone therapy and puberty blockers, removing a narrow exemption passed by lawmakers last year that allows kids at risk for self-harm and suicide to receive such care. (Willingham, 2/26)
On transgender IDs and housing —
AP:
By Defining Sex, Some States Are Denying Transgender People Of Legal Recognition
Mack Allen, an 18-year-old high school senior from Kansas, braces for sideways glances, questioning looks and snide comments whenever he has to hand over his driver’s license, which still identifies him as female.
They’ve come from a police officer responding to a car accident. They’ve come from an urgent care employee loudly using the wrong name and pronouns. They’ve come from the people in the waiting room who overheard. (DeMillo and Hanna, 2/27)
Fox News:
Colorado House Advances Bill Mandating Schools Use Transgender Students' Preferred Name
The Colorado state legislature advanced a bill on Friday aimed at mandating K-12 schools statewide to implement policies requiring educators to address transgender students by their preferred name in all school settings – including in records and documents – independent of parental approval or a formal legal name change. The bill will need one more round of voting before advancing to the Senate floor. (Joseph, 2/26)
Axios:
Transgender Floridians Protest New ID Rule
When Steven Rocha received his new driver's license — one that matched his gender expression — he nearly cried. There were so many spaces he would have to present his ID, and as a queer transgender man, it was "always kind of uncomfortable and sometimes scary depending on where I was to essentially be outed by my license that wasn't up to date." Why it matters: Without identification that matches their gender expression, trans Floridians face the risk of being outed at every traffic stop, visit to the polls, beer run, hotel check-in and more, advocates say. (Brugal and Varn, 2/26)
Florida Phoenix:
‘It Was The Life Raft’: Transgender People Find A Safe Haven In Florida’s Capital City
Transgender and gender-nonconforming adults are more likely to be homeless, with many of them kicked out of their homes by disapproving relatives, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness. About 1 in 5 transgender people have experienced homelessness at some point, the National Center for Transgender Equality reports, and Black people make up a disproportionate number of them. Residents can stay for up to a year at Capital Tea’s safe house, which is reserved for transgender women. This summer, Diaz said, the group plans to open a house for transgender men. She hopes to grow the program beyond Florida and create a model program for other states and cities. “I want it to be to where it is not just Tallahassee-based,” Diaz said. “I want Capital Tea to be the Underground Railroad of trans housing.” (Hassanein, 2/25)
