Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
North Dakota Governor, Senate Battle Over Trans Pronouns Bill
AP: North Dakota Governor Vetoes Transgender Pronouns Bill
North Dakota’s Republican governor vetoed a bill that would generally prohibit public schools teachers and staff from referring to transgender students by pronouns other than those reflecting the sex assigned to them at birth. The state Senate voted 37-9 to override the veto Thursday afternoon, just hours after Gov. Doug Burgum’s office announced his decision. The House, which will convene Friday, must still vote on the override, The Bismarck Tribune reported. (Stafford, 3/30)
Houston Chronicle: Exemption For Current Patients Added To Texas Ban On Transgender Care
A bipartisan amendment to a bill that would ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors would create an exception for those who have been on the medications for 90 days prior to the bill’s effective date. (Goldenstein, 3/30)
Politico: Florida Proposal Targets Transgender Bathroom Use
Republican lawmakers in Florida this week introduced legislation that could make it a misdemeanor offense for someone to use certain bathrooms that don’t align with their sex at birth, joining conservatives across the country on an issue that opponents say unfairly targets LGBTQ people. Named the “Safety in Private Spaces Act,” lawmakers in the House and Senate introduced similar bills that require that people use restrooms and changing facilities according to their sex assigned at birth at places like schools and restaurants. Legislators state in the proposal that the aim is to maintain “public safety, decency, and decorum.” Democrats and LGBTQ advocates oppose the idea, claiming it could spur vigilante “potty police” who feel empowered to harass transgender and queer people in facilities across the state. (Atterbury, 3/30)
The New York Times: Nebraska’s Fight Over Transgender Care Turns Personal And Snarls Lawmaking
Ash Homan, a 12-year-old from Omaha, spoke confidently as he urged Nebraska lawmakers not to ban transition-related care for transgender minors. “People introducing and passing these laws underestimate how much a child knows about their own body and about their own brain,” Ash, a transgender boy, testified during a hearing early this year that kicked off a vitriolic fight that has all but paralyzed legislative work in Nebraska during the past month. (Londono, 3/30)
Stat: Telehealth Rule Change Threatens Trans Health Care Access
As states across the U.S. introduce anti-trans legislation, transgender and nonbinary people face increasing restrictions in their ability to access gender-affirming care. Now experts say the government’s plans to end the Covid public health emergency on May 11 could further jeopardize the health and safety of trans people across the country. “These targeted political attacks … are another public health emergency,” Crystal Beal, a physician and founder and CEO of telemedicine provider QueerDoc, said at a media briefing on Thursday. “Couple these with the end of the public health emergency, and more trans people will die.” (Gaffney, 3/31)
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AP: Maryland Votes To Expand Medicaid Gender-Affirming Care
Maryland lawmakers gave final approval Thursday to expanding procedures relating to gender-affirming care that are covered by the state’s Medicaid program. The 93-39 vote by the House of Delegates sends the measure to Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat who has said he will sign the bill. The state’s Medicaid program currently limits gender-affirming care to a handful of procedures, such as mental health services for gender dysphoria, continuous hormone replacement therapy, and gender reassignment surgery. (Witte, 3/30)
Axios: These U.S. States Push To Protect Transgender Care
While Republican politicians in some states work to limit gender-affirming care for transgender young people, a number of Democratic-controlled legislatures are doing the opposite. What's happening: Democratic lawmakers in more than a dozen states, including Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Minnesota and Vermont, want to shield patients and providers. (Van Oot and Santos, 3/31)
ABC News: Queer And Trans Youth Plan March In The Streets In 49 States Amid Anti-LGBTQ Attacks
Several months after Samira, a 16-year-old Florida transgender girl, began taking gender-affirming hormones, the Florida medical board’s ban on transgender youth healthcare stopped her in her tracks. “The day before the policy passed for real, I was dropped from my provider suddenly, without notice, and had to scramble to get a meeting to get that cleared up,” Samira told ABC News in an interview. (Alfonseca, 3/31)
