Abstract
Bans on gender affirming care are going to take a group of individuals who, as a whole, are already marginalized and already at risk. And then within that group, it’s going to segregate them even more because you’re going to have the people who can do that. You’re going to the families who can take their kids eight hours to another state. Then you’re going to the family that can’t because they can’t pay out of pocket, or they can’t take off work or they can’t make it to a state where their child can get care. These laws will take that group that’s already marginalized and marginalize them even more for the people who don’t have the means.
The level of discrimination here, and the end results, are pretty outstanding. I think that the New England Journal of Medicine summed it up best in this article on criminalization of gender affirming care:
"We believe these bills threaten the health, well-being, and survival of transgender children and young adults. By penalizing physicians for practicing evidence-based medicine, the legislation nullifies their expertise and interferes with therapeutic relationships among physicians, patients, and families. It strips power from patients and families who are already marginalized. And although the stated purpose of the legislation is to protect adolescents, we believe that criminalizing what has been shown to be lifesaving treatment will do the opposite––and that the consequences could well be tragic."
Recommended Citation
Dana N. Johns, Panel Presentation, The Criminalization of Trans Lives and Health Care: Provider and Patient Perspective, 2024 ULR 853 (2024).
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Civil Rights and Discrimination Commons, Health Law and Policy Commons, Juvenile Law Commons, Law and Gender Commons