We Must Raise Our Voices Against the Attacks on Trans Care

"Last summer, the conservative supermajority on the Supreme Court ruled that it isn't discriminatory to discriminate against trans youth. But HHS has the ability to take that bigoted opinion even further by barring institutions from providing gender-affirming care as a condition of their participation in Medicare and Medicaid. The same condition would apply to Children's Health Insurance Program funding. In other words, these proposed rules would affect nearly all, if not all, hospitals."

"Led by the Gender Liberation Movement, 50 parents and activists, including members of ACT UP NY and ACT UP Pittsburgh, protested outside of Health and Human Services headquarters on Tuesday, on the final day of the public comment period of the rules, to make it known that "trans youth are no debate." Organizers held a sign that read, "HANDS OFF OUR 'MONES," while blockading the entrance of HHS, before 25 people were taken into custody, first by Department of Homeland Security agents before being handed over to the Metropolitan Police Department. The parents and activists were held for 12 hours, and some were denied food and phone calls or experienced mistreatment because of their race or gender identity, Raquel Willis, cofounder of the Gender Liberation Movement, told The Nation."

HHS under the Trump administration has intensified actions targeting trans youth, their families, and providers of gender-affirming care. The Supreme Court's conservative supermajority ruled that discrimination against trans youth is not discriminatory, and HHS proposes rules that would bar institutions from providing gender-affirming care as a condition of Medicare, Medicaid, and Children's Health Insurance Program participation. Those rules would affect nearly all hospitals. Coverage of the proposed rules has been limited. Fifty parents and activists led by the Gender Liberation Movement protested at HHS on the final public comment day. Organizers blocked the entrance, displayed signs, and 25 people were arrested and detained, with some reporting denial of food, phone calls, and mistreatment linked to race or gender identity.

Read at The Nation