President Donald Trump’s second State of the Union address tonight is supposed to focus on “unity.”
“We can bridge old divisions, heal old wounds, build new coalitions, forge new solutions and unlock the extraordinary promise of America’s future,” Trump plans...
transgender
The Senate has been rushing through judicial confirmations, including many anti-LGBTQ judges
The process by which the Senate confirms federal judges has greatly shifted under President Trump, and the results are greatly endangering the LGBTQ community. A new report from Lambda Legal shows that more than a third of nominees have a documented history of anti-LGBTQ bias, but many are getting rushed across the confirmation finish line to lifetime appointments anyway.
In the past, the Senate has been a bit slow to confirm judges to the federal bench. For example, under the past ...
Transgender women celebrate monumental health care court victory
It was the first case outcome of its kind: a total of $780,000 in damages for two transgender women who were denied medically necessary health care because of their gender identity. It was also likely the first time a court found that facial feminization surgery was medically necessary.
The women now hope that if eight jurors in Wisconsin could be convinced that transgender people deserve access to health care related to their identities, others might be inspired to fight for what t...
Trump administration falsely blames Obama administration for transgender erasure proposal
The Trump administration issued a new response Monday to the New York Times’ report that it is considering a plan to erase transgender people from recognition under federal nondiscrimination laws. This attempt to blame the Obama administration for the current circumstances is not only false, but further undermined by conservative groups’ praise for the news.
In a statement calling the Times’ story “misleading,” Health and Human Services spokesperson Cai...
It’s not an exaggeration to say the Trump administration wants to erase transgender people
A Sunday New York Times article revealed that the Trump administration is planning to impose a rule that would effectively erase the existence of transgender people under the law. Though the Times did not share the full memo draft it had reviewed, it detailed the memo’s plan to define sex across agencies as “either male or female, unchangeable, and determined by the genitals that a person is born with” — subject to genetic testing.
It’s the equivalent of impo...
These 3 anti-LGBTQ lawsuits outline new conservative strategy in Texas
Conservatives in Texas have filed three lawsuits seeking to overturn LGBTQ protections in the name of “religious freedom.” As the Texas state legislature gears up for its 2019 session, the litigation suggests a bold and renewed effort to undermine civil rights for LGBTQ people, seemingly at every turn.
The three suits in question were filed last week — all within a few days of each other — by three of Texas’ most vocal anti-LGBTQ groups. Two of them tar...
Two federal judges rule insurance companies must cover transgender health procedures
Two different federal courts granted rulings last week in favor of allowing transgender people to access the medically necessary care prescribed to them by their doctors.
The rulings confirm the Affordable Care Act’s protections on the basis of sex extend to transgender people.
In Wisconsin, two University of Wisconsin employees challenged an exclusion to the Uniform Benefits established by the state’s Government Insurance Board. The exclusion prohibited coverage ...
Iowa judge overturns state’s ban on Medicaid covering transgender medical procedures
An Iowa judge has overturned the state’s ban on allowing Medicaid to cover the costs of surgical procedures for transgender people. In his ruling Thursday, Chief District Judge Arthur Gamble ordered the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) to immediately approve Medicaid coverage for the two petitioners, Carol Ann Beal and EerieAnna Good.
Both Beal and Good had already changed all of their documentation to reflect their identities, but were denied coverage for medically nec...
Trans people suffer from higher rates of suicide. Why are hospitals letting them down?
Lying in a psychosis ward bed, Amelia Perry couldn’t shake thoughts of suicide. The noise blaring from other patients in the hallway and the bright lights above felt like too much. Perry, a 25-year-old trans person, was in the hospital seeking help.
Days earlier, Perry (who asked at admission to be identified by gender-neutral pronouns ze and hir) had been discharged from another nearby hospital following a week-long stay after attempting suicide. That’s how Perry ende...
Trump administration health announcement is latest blow to transgender Americans
The Trump administration’s campaign to make life more difficult for transgender Americans entered a new phase this weekend. On Saturday, according to the New York Times, the administration announced that it would gut an anti-discrimination statute when it comes to health care access for transgender patients.
The rule, passed under the Obama administration in 2016, had prevented health care providers receiving federal financial assistance — including those receiving Medic...