By Comet Ziemer
With rates of anti-trans stigma rising in the United States, many wonder what the future for transgender youth will look like after continuing to push away from helping transgender youth. Many states such as Florida, Arizona, Alabama, and Tennessee have already taken steps to stop gender affirming healthcare from being used on people under the age of 18. Studies show that roughly 82% of transgender youth think about committing suicide, and 40% attempt suicide at some point in their lives. But many red state politicians still believe that banning gender affirming care is “protecting the children.”
In the midst of all of this, Oklahoma state senator David Bullard has filed a bill that would ban any gender affirming care for anyone under the age of 26. The Millstone Act of 2023 would make it illegal to suggest or administer any type of gender affirming care for trans people under the age of 26. The bill issues the punishment of removal of a medical license for “unprofessional conduct.” The list of banned practices includes surgery, puberty blockers, and hormones. This bill also denies that anyone already getting gender affirming care from continuing to go through with it, leading to many trans people detransitioning.
Bullard also filed a bill in December 2022 suggesting that medical professionals be banned from giving gender affirming surgeries to anyone below the age of 21, setting a punishment of 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine to anyone who performed an operation. He also filed a bill prohibiting transgender youth from using bathrooms that align with their chosen gender.
According to The Hill, “No fewer than 20 bills targeting medical care have been pre-filed in at least 9 states”, and will be brought up during this year. Many state medical organizations in Florida voted to prohibit gender affirming care for transgender children and said that children should not be allowed to wear the clothes they feel match their gender identities or change their name and pronouns.
Many people are scared of what the future will hold for transgender people all across the country. With the suicide rates of transgender youth increasing drastically over the past few years, many think this could be a mass genocide for queer people all over the country.
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