Parsing Policy: Why Europe Follows The Evidence In Health Care For Trans Youngsters
Opinion writers focus on these public health issues and others.
The Hill:
Why Europe And America Are Going In Opposite Directions On Youth Transgender Medicine
In stark contrast to groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), which urges clinicians to “affirm” their patient’s identity irrespective of circumstance and regards alternatives to an affirm-early/affirm-only approach “conversion therapy,” European health authorities are recommending exploratory therapy to discern why teens are rejecting their bodies and whether less invasive treatments may help. (Leor Sapir, 6/28)
The Hill:
America’s Youths Are Under Attack
Last month, my daughter turned 2 years old, and while I don’t yet have to explain it to her, she is growing up in a world where she has fewer rights than I did. She, like so many other young people in this country, will have to face the consequences of right-wing, anti-abortion extremists attacking her bodily autonomy and violating her reproductive rights. ... What many don’t realize is how severely young people are affected. Their rights are in crisis, and we need policymakers to open their eyes. (Kimberly Inez McGuire, 6/28)
The Hill:
Democrats Are Eyeing The Wrong Approach To Tuberville’s Blanket Hold
Sen. Tommy Tuberville's (R-Ala.) blanket hold has some Democrats considering changes to the Senate’s rules that would make it harder to obstruct nominations in the future. ... Yet changing the Senate’s rules will not end the impasse. This is because the rules are not responsible for Tuberville’s “dangerous blockade.” They do not allow Tuberville — or any other senator — to singlehandedly block military nominations for five months and counting. Democrats give Tuberville that power instead by asking for his permission — or consent — to waive the Senate’s rules to confirm the nominations by unanimous consent. Democrats can overcome Tuberville’s obstruction by using the same rules they claim are the problem. (James Wallner, 6/28)
The Hill:
State Laws Legalizing Assisted Suicide Violate The Americans With Disabilities Act
Despite more than 30 years of the ADA being on the books, physician perceptions of the lives of people with disabilities remain abysmal. A recent Harvard study reports, “In [a] survey of 714 practicing U.S. physicians nationwide, 82.4% reported that people with significant disability have worse quality of life than nondisabled people. … [T]hese findings about physicians’ perceptions of this population raise questions about ensuring equitable care to people with disability. Potentially biased views among physicians could contribute to persistent health care disparities affecting people with disability.” (Matt Valliere, 6/28)
The New York Times:
Pandemic Divisiveness In The U.S. Wasn’t What It Seemed
I’d like to tell you a story about the pandemic, one that may sound so gauzily hopeful, it would qualify today as a public health fairy tale. The story is this. When Covid arrived on American shores, the United States did not have to collapse into Covid partisanship, with citizen turning against citizen and each party vilifying the other as the source of our national misery. Instead, political leaders could have moved forward more or less in unison, navigating epidemiological uncertainties unencumbered by the weight of the culture war. You may be laughing, but this is actually a pretty good description of what genuinely happened in the spring and summer of 2020, despite how you may remember those days now. (David Wallace-Wells, 6/28)
