Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
LGBTQ+ Youth Report High Suicide Risk, Poor Mental Health Care Access
Houston Chronicle: 41% Of LGBTQ Youth Seriously Considered Suicide In 2022, New Survey Finds
LGBTQ youth, and particularly those who are transgender and non-binary, continue to be at high risk of attempting suicide, according to a new survey. The fifth annual survey published by The Trevor Project, the world's largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ youth, found that 41 percent seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year, including half of transgender and nonbinary young people. That’s down slightly from last year’s 45 percent of LGBTQ youth who seriously considered suicide. (Goldenstein, 5/1)
Stat: Survey: Anti-LGBTQ Legislation Takes Alarming Mental-Health Toll On Queer Youth
Across the U.S., anti-LGBTQ legislation — and especially anti-trans legislation — is limiting queer youth’s access to everything from bathrooms to gender-affirming surgery. A new national survey from the Trevor Project paints a stark picture of the mental-health toll of these forces: LGBTQ youth consider and attempt suicide at alarmingly high rates, and nearly one-third say their mental health was poor “most of the time or always” due to anti-LGBTQ policies and legislation. (Gaffney, 5/1)
If you are in need of help —
Dial 9-8-8 for 24/7 support from the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It's free and confidential.
In other news about transgender health care —
CNN: Oklahoma Governor Signs Legislation Banning Gender-Affirming Care For Minors
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill into law Monday banning gender-affirming care for minors with the possibility of a felony charge for health care professionals who provide it. (Forrest and Sutton, 5/2)
St. Louis Public Radio: Judge Again Temporarily Blocks Missouri Transgender Care Limits
A St. Louis County judge on Monday put a statewide emergency rule that would limit health care for transgender Missourians on hold for at least another two weeks. Circuit Judge Ellen Ribaudo granted a request from the Missouri chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal and their plaintiffs to extend the pause on the rule from Attorney General Andrew Bailey, originally scheduled to go into effect April 27. (Fentem, 5/1)
AP: Montana Rep. Zooey Zephyr Sues Over Removal From House Floor
Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr asked a court Monday to allow for her return to the House floor after she was silenced and barred for chiding her Republican colleagues over legislation to restrict gender-affirming health care and for encouraging protesters. (Beth Hanson and Brown, 5/2)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Whistleblower Pushes Back On St. Louis Transgender Center Findings, Reiterates Claims
The whistleblower who accused a transgender clinic of harming its young patients is standing firm in her claims of medical negligence after an internal review by Washington University found them to be unsubstantiated. In a pair of statements on April 22, ex-employee Jamie Reed’s legal team called the oversight committee’s summary of conclusions, released the day before, “little more than the expected self-serving finding.” (Schrappen, 4/29)
Also —
The Texas Tribune: Transgender Texas Teen Plots His Future As Anti-LGBTQ Bills Progress
Randell and his family are bracing for the worst-case scenario.Over the past few months, the 16-year-old North Texas boy has watched Senate Bill 14 — which would bar transgender youth like himself from receiving puberty blockers and hormone therapy — sail through the Senate and a House committee. The legislation would also ban transition-related surgeries, but they are rarely performed on kids. And on Tuesday, the bill could be up for a key vote in the lower chamber, where the legislation has more than enough support to pass. (Nguyen, 5/1)
