As a medical professional, I’ve experienced firsthand how increased advocacy and visibility of transgender people in recent years has made an impact—more trans patients are coming in for routine primary care, and doctors are helping to achieve more positive health outcomes.
<...
lgbtq
Illinois governor signs executive order to help trans students feel safer at school
Illinois Gov. Jay Pritzker (D) signed an executive order on Sunday aimed at protecting transgender students from discrimination and harassment. The governor signed the order on the last day of Pride Month and on the same day as Chicago’s Pride Parade.
The executive order creates a 25-member task force to develop policy recommendations that educate school officials on issues affecting transgender students, such as dress codes, using the correct pronouns, bathroom access, and na...
These lawmakers say LGBTQ people should not be erased from federal surveys
On Wednesday, Rep. Raul M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) reintroduced the LGBT Data Inclusion Act, which would require federal surveys to include gender identity and sexual orientation to better address LGBTQ people’s needs.
The legislation also requires that agencies publishing reports on survey demographic data include information on sexual orientation and gender identity. The changes would go a long way in helping the LGBTQ community receive more funding and...
Senate votes to confirm man with anti-LGBTQ rights record for lifetime federal judgeship
On Wednesday, the Senate voted 52-46 to confirm as federal judge a man with a record opposing LGBTQ rights and reproductive rights. Matthew Kacsmaryk will sit on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. It is a lifetime federal judgeship.
Before his confirmation, 75 LGBTQ and allied groups signed a letter addressed to Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), ranking member of the committee, in opposition...
The organizers behind Boston’s Straight Pride Parade should concern you
While Boston’s planned “straight pride parade” has created a fountain of hilarious jokes, there is a serious issue at hand with organizers’ close ties to far-right groups.
The three men organizing the parade, planned for August 31, are John Hugo, Mark Sahady, and Chris Bartley, who is called the “gay ambassador” on the event website. Sahady has ties to groups like the Proud Boys, the New Hampshire American Guard, and the Massachusetts Patriot Fron...
Trump administration has now dismantled every major transgender protection it can
The Trump administration announced Friday morning sweeping changes to the rules protecting transgender people from discrimination in health care. Combined with an announcement earlier this week ending gender identity protections in homeless shelters, the administration has now taken steps to exclude transgender people from almost every aspect of public life, including employment, housing, health care, education, prisons, and the military.
The Trump administration has been forecastin...
Transgender Iowans are worried they’ll lose transition-related care under new bill
Iowa is one signature away from enacting a law that would limit transgender people’s access to necessary health care.
The law would allow government entities to opt out of using public insurance dollars, including Medicaid, to pay for any kind of transition-related care. This language was tacked on as an amendment to a health and human services appropriations bill late in the process, LGBTQ rights advocates said, without any committee hearings or public comment process. Lawmak...
Trump administration finalizes ‘conscience’ rule affecting transgender people’s health care
The Trump administration finalized a new rule enabling the discrimination of transgender people in health care on Thursday.
The rule essentially allows health care workers to refer to religious or moral objections when they don’t want to deliver health care services, which would also affect access to abortion and contraception.
The so-called “conscience rule” would revise existing regulations to “ensure vigorous enforcement of Federal conscience and an...
Illinois lawmaker introduces bill to punish doctors for providing health care to trans people
An Illinois bill filed by a Republican lawmaker, the Youth Health Protection Act, would punish doctors for providing transition-related health care to trans youth.
Rep. Tom Morrison’s bill, HB 3515, would prevent doctors from giving hormone prescriptions or providing transition-related surgeries for young trans people under the age of 18. If they do, it will be considered “unprofessional conduct” subject to discipline by a licensing entity or disciplinary review bo...