Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First Gender-Affirming Surgery In Federal Prison Ordered By Judge
Dallas Morning News: ACLU: Federal Prisons System Ordered To Provide First Surgery To Transgender Inmate
The federal prison system has been ordered to schedule what’s believed to be the first gender-affirming surgery for a transgender inmate in its custody. A federal judge on Monday said the U.S. Bureau of Prisons must find a surgeon who can perform Cristina Nichole Iglesias’ vaginoplasty before her scheduled release in December. Iglesias, a transgender woman serving a 20-year sentence for threatening the British government, has been fighting for years to receive the surgery while behind bars. (McGaughy, 4/20)
In news from Florida —
Politico: Florida Releases Guidance Clashing With HHS Advice On Transgender Kids
The Florida Department of Health on Wednesday offered new guidance on transition-related medical care for young people, bucking advice given by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Department and medical experts including the American Medical Association. Florida’s health department published a memo claiming that minors should not receive hormone therapies, puberty-blocking drugs or gender reassignment surgery. Instead, Florida’s health agency states that children and adolescents should be provided social support by peers and family and counseling from a licensed provider. The memo serves as guidance and is not a rule or regulation. (Sarkissian, 4/20)
And more updates on LGBTQ+ health care —
UPI: Parents Ask Court To Overturn Alabama Law Denying Their Transgender Children Healthcare
Parents of four transgendered children in Alabama have asked a federal judge to overturn a controversial state law criminalizing doctors for providing minors with gender transition-related healthcare before it goes into effect next month. Senate Bill 184 is considered one of the most restrictive bills in the nation affecting transgender people as it aims to prohibit medical procedures or prescriptions of medication to minors intended to alter their gender or delay puberty by penalizing their doctors with up to 10 years' imprisonment. (Coote, 4/21)
Dallas Morning News: Log Cabin Republicans Of Texas Support Blocking Certain Medical Treatments For Transgender Youth
The Log Cabin Republicans’ national organization publicly criticized the Biden administration for supporting gender-affirming care weeks ago. LCR of Texas Chairman Marco Roberts said the group carefully considered the issue after members asked for direction. It did not characterize gender-affirming care as “child abuse” in its statement. “We did not come out with a statement immediately after the governor’s policy was announced because we felt that we needed to do our due diligence, review the science, and not throw something out that was not carefully considered, regardless of political pressures on different sides,” Roberts told The Dallas Morning News. “But gay and trans conservatives and allies do look to us for leadership on these issues, and we aim to do our best to provide it.” (McGaughy, 4/19)
NBC News: Texas Child Welfare Workers Quit Over Governor's Transgender Directive
An increasing number of child welfare workers in Texas are quitting because of a directive from Gov. Greg Abbott that requires them to investigate child abuse claims against parents suspected of providing gender-affirming care to their transgender children. Morgan Davis, a transgender man, put in his two-week notice with the Child Protective Services office in Travis County this month because he “couldn’t morally continue” his job after investigating the family of a trans teen, he told KXAN-TV, an NBC affiliate in Austin. (Yurcaba, 4/19)
Deseret News: How Many Utah Residents Actually Support Transgender Girls Sports Ban?
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Kera Birkeland, R-Morgan, said during committee and floor debate that she sponsored HB11 to preserve the integrity of girls athletics. Some lawmakers said they supported the final version of the legislation to protect their daughters. “Standing up for Utah’s female athletes has always been my goal, and I am encouraged that a majority of Utahns feel similarly,” Birkeland said in a statement responding to the poll results. The results revealed that more than half of the men polled — 51% — strongly supported the legislation, compared to 37% of women. Sixty-one percent of men either strongly or somewhat supported the law while 47% of women were in support. Nearly as many women — 46% — said they somewhat or strongly opposed HB11. (Cortez, 4/21)
The Hill: Missouri Lawmaker Goes Viral For Impassioned Speech Against Transgender Sports Bill
A Missouri state representative has gone viral on social media for an impassioned speech he made this week against a proposed measure in his state to ban transgender girls from competing on girls’ sports teams. The speech from Democratic state Rep. Ian Mackey, who is gay, started when he confronted state Rep. Chuck Basye (R) on the Missouri House floor Monday. Mackey asked Basye, who sponsored the proposed amendment, about the moment Basye’s brother came out as gay to his family, to which Basye said his brother initially “thought that we would hold that against him and not let my children be around him.” (Prieb, 4/20)
