Legislation Criminally Penalizing Doctors Who Treat Transgender Teens Goes Against Best Medical Practices
Most teens seeking care aren't getting permanent surgeries, but rather injections that pause the process of puberty. A new wave of bills from conservative states, including South Dakota and Kentucky, want to make it illegal for doctors to give such care, despite testimony that the injections help diminish depression and suicidal thoughts. "They’re not listening to any health care providers," said Dr. Alexis Chávez, a psychiatrist. "And they’re advancing something that’s very dangerous to make a statement.”
The New York Times:
Doctors Could Face Criminal Charges For Treating Transgender Teens
A “bathroom bill” to regulate the restroom choice of transgender people has failed in South Dakota. So has a bill that would have required high school athletes to play on a sports team according to their sex at birth, not their gender identity. But it is a new year and a new legislative session, and a group of South Dakota lawmakers is trying to pass a new restriction on transgender teenagers that the lawmakers say would prevent unnecessary medical procedures. (Bosman and Smith, 1/27)
Argus Leader:
S.D. Lawmaker Compares Transgender Surgeries To Holocaust’s ‘Bizarre Medical Experiments’
Rep. Fred Deutsch on Monday defended a statement he made last week comparing gender confirmation surgeries to medical experiments conducted during the Holocaust. But Deutsch, who is the son of a Holocaust survivor and had family members killed at Auschwitz, told the Argus Leader that he absolutely wasn't saying doctors who treat transgender children are the same as Nazis. "I've been to a whole bunch of Holocaust museums all over the world. It's very personal to me. It's just a simple reflection that the pictures seem similar to me," he told the Argus Leader. (Kaczke, 1/27)
Courier-Journal:
Kentucky Doctors Could Be Arrested For Transgender Youth Treatments Under A Proposed Bill
Doctors could be jailed for providing transgender youth with identity-related medical treatments under a new bill in the Kentucky legislature, the latest in a series of conservative legislative efforts in several states aimed at transgender minors. The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Savannah Maddox, would make it a felony for medical providers to prescribe medications, including puberty-blocking or hormone treatments, or conduct surgeries, for anyone younger than 18 with the intent to alter their gender. (Kenning, 1/27)
