Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Study Highlights Trans Women's Advantages, Disadvantages In Sports
The New York Times: New Study Bolsters Idea Of Athletic Differences Between Men And Trans Women
A new study financed by the International Olympic Committee found that transgender female athletes showed greater handgrip strength — an indicator of overall muscle strength — but lower jumping ability, lung function and relative cardiovascular fitness compared with women whose gender was assigned female at birth. That data, which also compared trans women with men, contradicted a broad claim often made by proponents of rules that bar transgender women from competing in women’s sports. It also led the study’s authors to caution against a rush to expand such policies, which already bar transgender athletes from a handful of Olympic sports. (Longman, 4/23)
Houston Chronicle: AG Ken Paxton Won't Get Seattle Hospital Records On Transgender Youth
Seattle Children’s Hospital will not have to release records about Texas transgender children who may have received transition care after it reached a settlement with the Texas attorney general this week. The hospital had sued Attorney General Ken Paxton in December after his office requested the information, calling the investigation a “sham” and saying it does not employ staff in Texas who treat patients here, either in-person or via telemedicine. (Goldenstein, 4/23)
The Texas Tribune: Texas’ Foster Care System Leaves Transgender Kids Isolated
It was near midnight just a couple days before Thanksgiving 2020 when 17-year-old Kayden Asher arrived at yet another temporary home during his yearslong tumble through Texas’ chaotic foster care system. His caseworker had given him just two hours to pack his bags before they drove into the night from a short-term shelter in South Texas to a nondescript building in Austin where foster kids in need of emergency shelter can live temporarily. When Asher arrived, the staff pulled him aside to ask some questions. “What are your pronouns? Do you feel safe talking about being trans around your caseworker?” Asher recalled them asking. (Melhado, 4/23)
EdSource: Judge Rejects Changing The Name Of California’s Trans Youth Ballot Measure
A group working on a fall ballot initiative that would limit the rights of transgender students lost a round in court Monday when a judge sided with the state in its description of the measure. Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Stephen Acquisto ruled that Attorney General Rob Bonta’s title, “Restricts Rights of Transgender Youth,” is a fair description of the initiative, which would require schools to notify parents if a student identifies as transgender, ban gender-affirming care for those under 18 and place other limits on students who identify as a gender other than what they were assigned at birth. (Jones, 4/23)
The Hill: More Than 90 Percent Of Transgender Teens Live In States That Have Proposed Or Passed Anti-Trans Laws: Report
Over 90 percent of transgender teens live in states that have proposed or passed anti-transgender laws, according to a new report. The report from the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, found that 93 percent of transgender teens from the ages of 13 to 17 live in states where there are laws or proposed laws “banning access to gender-affirming care, participation in sports, use of bathrooms and other sex-separated facilities, or affirmation of gender through pronoun use.” (Suter, 4/23)
