ATLANTA — The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) — the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization — today denounced the Georgia Senate vote to pass Senate Bill 140, a bill that will deny gender-affirming care to transgender people -Youth in the state.
“There is no justification for the Georgia Senate to move this legislation forward — passage of this policy will only harm transgender youth, not help anyone.” said Cathryn Oakley, Legislative Director and Senior Counsel for the Human Rights Campaign. “It is truly disappointing to see Georgia lawmakers address the self-serving, discriminatory policies being pushed at the behest of extremist groups across the country. The truth is that best practice, age-appropriate gender-affirming care is endorsed by all major medical organizations, and decisions about what care is best for a person should be made between them, their family and their caregivers – and politicians must stand up against it . The Georgia House of Representatives must do the right thing here – refuse to even consider this amazingly harmful and discriminatory legislation.”
The Georgia Psychological Association recently opposed Senate Bill 140, saying, “Budgetary regulations that restrict gender-affirming healthcare interfere with the autonomy of a child and their parent/guardian when it comes to making healthcare decisions ; interfere with a healthcare provider’s ability to use standards of practice and relevant research to guide its work; and are at odds with relevant research, standards of care and clinical expertise.”
So far in 2023, HRC is tracking 410 anti-LGBTQ+ laws introduced in state buildings across the country. Of these, 175 would specifically limit the rights of transgender people, the highest number of bills targeting transgender people in a single year.
This year HRC is pursuing:
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100 bills that would prevent trans youth from accessing age-appropriate, medically necessary and proven healthcare; four have already become law in Mississippi, South Dakota, Tennessee and Utah,
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More bathing ban bills submitted than in any previous year.
In a coordinated push led by national anti-LGBTQ+ groups using old discriminatory tropes, politicians in state buildings across the country introduced 315 discriminatory anti-LGBTQ+ laws in 2022, 29 of which went into effect. Despite this, less than 10% of these efforts have been successful. The majority of the discriminatory bills – 149 bills – targeted the transgender and non-binary community, with the majority targeting children, who bore the brunt of the discriminatory legislation. By the end of the 2022 legislative session, a record 17 bills targeting transgender and non-binary children had been passed.
Anti-LGBTQ+ legislation took various forms, including:
Get the facts on gender-affirming grooming:
- Every credible medical organization — representing over 1.3 million physicians in the United States — demands age-appropriate, gender-affirming care for transgender and non-binary people.
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“Transitional” or “gender-affirming” care looks different for each transgender and non-binary person.
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Parents, their children, and doctors make decisions together, and there are no medical interventions with lasting consequences until a transgender person is old enough to give truly informed consent.
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- Gender change is a personal process This can include changing clothing, names, and hairstyles to match a person’s gender identity.
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Some people take medication, some don’t; Some adults get surgery, some don’t. How someone transitions is their decision to make with their family and doctor.
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Therapists, parents, and healthcare providers work together to determine what changes need to be made at any given time that are in the best interests of the child.
- For most young children, this nurturing can be entirely social. That means:
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- Being transgender is not new.
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Some say it can feel like transgender is very new — but that’s because the media has covered it more in recent months and years.
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But transgender people have always existed and will continue to exist, regardless of the bills we pass.
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And very few transgender people change their minds.
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- ALL gender-affirming grooming is:
- And in many cases, this care is life-saving!
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A recent study by the Trevor Project provides data to support this – transgender youth with access to gender-affirming hormone therapy have lower rates of depression and a reduced risk of suicide.
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The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization advocating for equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ+ people are accepted as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.
