The far right has unleashed a torrent of attacks on transgender rights with the goal of pushing trans people further into the precarious margins of U.S. capitalist society. Despite those efforts in the halls of power, working and oppressed people have embraced the fight for trans liberation and rallied in defense of LGBTQ people under attack.
The latest is a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) that would severely limit the ability of millions of transgender people to access transition-related medical care.
Provocatively called the Protect Childrens Innocence Act, the bill would make it a felony to provide trans children with gender-affirming medical care, such as prescribing hormone blockers, hormone replacement therapy or surgery, punishable with between 10 and 25 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
In addition, the bill would ban health insurance companies from covering the costs of trans-related care for transgender adults, too, if the company works through the Affordable Care Act. It would also ban accredited institutions of higher education from teaching about trans health care, including to psychologists, endocrinologists, surgeons and EMTs.
Trans kids have been a major target by bigots, who have denied their ability to understand their gender identities and cast them as the victims of pushy doctors driven by trans ideology. They previously claimed that by contrast, trans adults had free choice, but its increasingly evident that was just a tactic to separate trans kids and adults and ban transitioning by both groups.
When Greene appeared on Tucker Carlsons Fox News talk show to push the new bill, he pledged to throw his weight behind it and pressure every Republican to back it, calling trans health care sexual mutilation and sterilization. His show features regular segments elevating lies to demonize LGBTQ people.
With Congress present political makeup, Greenes bill has zero chance of passing. However, it sends a chilling message about the far-rights agenda and their goal in the coming period. Despite their rhetoric, it was never just about trans kids. Their goal has always been to make it impossible for transgender people to openly exist in U.S. society.
Several similar developments recently point to Greenes goals not being on the political fringe, but deeply welded to the Republican Partys program.
Florida calls trans care experimental, Texas officials push for child seizures
On August 21, Florida became the 11th state to ban Medicaid, a government-funded health insurance program, from covering all trans-related treatments. This will immediately deprive 9,000 transgender Floridians of their medication and access to other treatments or procedures, raising the terrifying prospect of being forced to either acquire their medication illegally on the black market, or to detransition that is, to give up living socially as their gender and go back to trying to live as the gender they were assigned at birth and had previously transitioned away from.
This comes after Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo issued guidance to state health providers in April claiming that a lack of conclusive evidence exists to support affirming health care for trans children. Then in June, the states Agency for Health Care Administration said it had determined that several services for the treatment of gender dysphoria i.e., sex reassignment surgery, cross-sex hormones, and puberty blockers are not consistent with generally accepted professional medical standards and are experimental and investigational with the potential for harmful long term affects.
Both of these policies carry the risk of prompting private insurance providers to treat trans health care as experimental and refuse to cover such care.
It must be emphasized that in fact these orders directly contradict established standards of medical care for both trans children and adults, which say that supporting and affirming trans peoples identities socially and medically greatly alleviates emotional and psychological distress, including dramatically reducing the risk of suicide.
The attacks on trans health care come in addition to the states heinous Dont Say Gay law, which Florida school districts are interpreting as requiring teachers to out LGBTQ students to their parents and banning them from using a trans childs preferred name and pronouns without explicit approval by their parents. This will only further drive trans children into the shadows.
Texas has been another focus of the right wings disgusting attacks. The Texas Supreme Court ruled in May that the states Department of Family and Protective Services could resume investigating reports of parents of transgender children giving their child gender-affirming care, following a February decision by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton that doing so is a form of child abuse. However, the court found that Governor Greg Abbott could not order DFPS to specifically focus on such cases.
Abbotts anti-trans policy is so extreme that even the GOP-dominated state legislature failed to pass a bill on it last year after having passed one anti-trans bill after another. So Abbott resorted to the highly undemocratic method of abusing his executive power.
The danger this policy poses to trans children is extreme: If respecting a childs gender identity is considered abuse, then the state will take that child from their family and place them somewhere else where they will be safe from such treatment. For trans children, that means being forcibly detransitioned and trying to destroy their identity as a trans person. In fact, the United Nations in a 1948 convention identified, forcibly transferring children of the [targeted] group to another group as an example of genocide!
Far-right coordinates threats on hospitals
Just as fascists have coordinated attacks against Pride and Drag events on social media, they have extended their efforts to attack hospitals and clinics that offer trans health care.
Fascist accounts have spread lies that dozens of clinics, including Boston Childrens Hospital, are performing surgeries like hysterectomies and genital affirmation surgeries on children, which the Boston facility has clarified it does not do and which is not standard practice for such clinics. On August 16, the clinic said it had received a large volume of hostile internet activity, phone calls and harassing emails, including threats of violence toward our clinicians and staff thanks to the coordinated campaign.
There is a direct link between these attacks and the others: Rep. Greenes tweet announcing the introduction of her bill quoted as justification a post by one of the far right accounts involved in this campaign, and their targets are regularly amplified by figures like Tucker Carlson and far-right media outlets.
Attacks on trans clinics echo the decades-long terror campaign against abortion clinics, which have included everything from spreading false information to harassment of staff and patients, and even bombings and assassinations. As happens so often in U.S. history, the far right and major elements of the state work hand-in-hand to roll back social progress.
Working people are fighting back
Despite the increased tempo of attacks, working people are rallying to defend trans people and embrace their freedom struggle, showing just how unpopular the ruling class hateful agenda is.
In the aftermath of Abbotts order for DPFS to hunt down supportive parents of trans kids, more than 500 people rallied in front of the governors mansion in Austin in defense of trans rights. By comparison, less than 10 came out to support Abbotts order even though the media tried to build the narrative of dueling rallies, in effect urging more people to come out with the fascists.
In San Francisco, on the day the Supreme Court handed down the Dobbs vs. Jackson ruling, a massive march in defense of the right to an abortion converged with another large march in defense of trans rights. As thousands of protesters combined their marches into a single massive demonstration, they chanted reproductive and trans rights: one struggle, one fight!
In Woodland, California, in early July, when a local bar was targeted by the fascist online smear campaign, the owner nearly canceled the show for fear of another fascist attack like those seen at similar events across the country. However, after LGBTQ people and their supporters traveled far and wide to support them, the show went on as planned.
A similar situation happened in Houston, Texas, later that month, when more than 150 people came out in the blazing heat to defend a drag-themed bar from attack by self-described Christian fascists.
This is what real resistance looks like and its what the ruling class fears.
Read more from the original source:
The far right aims to eliminate trans people But the working... - Liberation
- Pharmac seeking bids from suppliers to fund another type of hormone replacement therapy - New Zealand Doctor Online - April 5th, 2024
- What is Hormone Replacement Therapy and how safe is it? - PinkNews - March 19th, 2024
- Menopausal Hormone Therapy | Johns Hopkins Medicine - January 6th, 2024
- Find a Provider - Biote - January 6th, 2024
- Biote Certified Providers By State - Biote - January 6th, 2024
- Is Hormone Replacement Therapy Right for You? What to Know - Motherly Inc. - January 6th, 2024
- Hormone Replacement Therapy - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf - February 6th, 2023
- Natural hormone replacement therapy: How it works - Medical News Today - February 6th, 2023
- Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) - Types - NHS - December 27th, 2022
- Helping Reduce Your Risk of Breast Cancer ThedaCare - ThedaCare - October 13th, 2022
- 'How Hormone Replacement Therapy Impacted My Strength Training' - Women's Health - October 13th, 2022
- This Simple Blood Test Gives Incredible Insights Into Building Muscle Mass - Yardbarker - October 13th, 2022
- Take strides to raise awareness of breast cancer - Theredstonerocket - October 13th, 2022
- Breast cancer and hormone therapy | GNP online - brytfmonline.com - October 13th, 2022
- Early detection matters | Marshall Medical employee recounts her breast cancer journey - Sand Mountain Reporter - October 13th, 2022
- Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) - Benefits and risks - NHS - October 4th, 2022
- Thyroid Hormone Replacement Therapy | Johns Hopkins Medicine - October 4th, 2022
- Prescribing HRT in women with migraine The Medical Republic - The Medical Republic - October 4th, 2022
- Caring for the gynecologic needs of the adolescent patient - Contemporary Obgyn - October 4th, 2022
- Im a GP heres the best way to treat acne and when to see a doctor... - The US Sun - October 4th, 2022
- State-by-state prevalence of the 5 most common types of cancer - KFOR Oklahoma City - October 4th, 2022
- How Menopause Affects Cholesterol And What to Do About It - TIME - September 25th, 2022
- Stroke symptoms in men & women - Times of India - September 25th, 2022
- Turn back the clock with collaborative care solutions Peace Arch News - Peace Arch News - September 25th, 2022
- Health benefits of flaxseed - Punch Newspapers - September 25th, 2022
- Progesterone Market Size to Grow by USD 1.23 Billion, Rise in Research and Development of Progesterone Drugs -Technavio - Yahoo Finance - September 25th, 2022
- Hormone Replacement Therapy for Menopause - Healthline - September 16th, 2022
- Hormone Replacement Therapy Market to Hit Value of $29.65 Billion by 2028 | Looming Shortage HRT Products to be a Key Challenge - GlobeNewswire - September 16th, 2022
- This Is How Long It Takes For Hormone Replacement Therapy To Start Working - Health Digest - September 16th, 2022
- Progesterone to be fully funded for all who need it in 'a welcome change' - Stuff - September 16th, 2022
- Contributor: In the Misdiagnosis of Menopause, What Needs to Change? - AJMC.com Managed Markets Network - September 16th, 2022
- Premenstrual syndrome: Real-life impact and coping strategies - Medical News Today - September 16th, 2022
- Why you should be paying attention to Ohio Supreme Court races - News 5 Cleveland WEWS - September 16th, 2022
- When You Take Vitamin C Every Day, Here's What Happens Eat This Not That - Eat This, Not That - September 16th, 2022
- Using HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) - breast cancer - September 8th, 2022
- Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy for Men - September 8th, 2022
- Hormone Replacement Therapy for Over 60s | Gransnet - September 8th, 2022
- Rethinking "The Change": Discover 40+ Ways to Embrace Menopause - PR Newswire - September 8th, 2022
- Seven days in medicine: 31 Aug to 6 Sep 2022 - The BMJ - September 8th, 2022
- If Covid Distorted Your Sense Of Time, Don't Panic: You're In The Majority - Kaiser Health News - September 8th, 2022
- Hot Flashes Can Impact Up to 80% of Women So Why Arent We Talking About It? - SheKnows - August 30th, 2022
- Woman shares the frustrations of going through menopause at age 49 - Insider - August 30th, 2022
- F*cking Ridiculous! Scotland Is Championing Menopause But Got One Big Thing Wrong - Suggest - August 30th, 2022
- Hunter Schafer Criticized For Appearing to Agree With Anti-Nonbinary Post - Newsweek - August 30th, 2022
- Gender Dysphoria Is Now Protected Under the Americans With Disabilities Act and It's a Pretty... - POPSUGAR - August 30th, 2022
- Boxing New Zealand supports open category in Olympic style boxing - New Zealand Herald - August 30th, 2022
- Doylestown Turns The Town Teal For Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month - Patch - August 30th, 2022
- Hormone Replacement Therapy Will Be Available Over-The-Counter In The UK In SeptemberWe Wish The U.S. Would Follow Suit - Suggest - August 22nd, 2022
- To Your Good Health: Length of hormone treatment depends on the individual - Agri-News - August 22nd, 2022
- Menopause: Symptoms, causes, complications, diagnosis and treatment - Rising Kashmir - August 22nd, 2022
- How to Treat and Prevent Melasma with Nutrition - Intelligent Living - August 22nd, 2022
- How to eat and exercise for menopause: why you should prep now - Stylist Magazine - August 22nd, 2022
- 4 Real-Life Dating Tips for People Living with Alopecia - Everyday Health - August 22nd, 2022
- Cardiovascular health in the menopause transition: a longitudinal study of up to 3892 women with up to four repeated measures of risk factors - BMC... - August 22nd, 2022
- Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) | Health Navigator NZ - July 3rd, 2022
- Hormone-replacement therapy: current thinking - PubMed - July 3rd, 2022
- With 6.1 % CAGR, Hormone Replacement Therapy Market Size worth USD 21.49 billion by 2028 Industry Trends - Benzinga - July 3rd, 2022
- Lower Hormone Levels Linked to Risk of Sleep Apnea - Medscape - July 3rd, 2022
- Menopause and Sensitive Teeth: Symptoms, Causes, Treatments - Healthline - July 3rd, 2022
- 8 Bad Habits Leading to Breast Cancer Eat This Not That - Eat This, Not That - July 3rd, 2022
- Open, honest conversations key in reducing LGBTQ health disparities - WFYI - July 3rd, 2022
- Stopping Hormone Replacement Therapy: Cold Turkey Menopause - Breastcancer.org - July 3rd, 2022
- What the Reversal of Roe Means for the LGBTQ+ Community - Progressive.org - July 3rd, 2022
- Top 10 Hormone Replacement Therapy Industry to Look Out for in 2022 by Abbott Laboratories, Novartis, Pfizer, Inc., Mylan Laboratories - Digital... - June 22nd, 2022
- University of Medicine and Health Sciences to Host "LGBTQ+ Medicine & Theory: Providing Compassionate Care" - Yahoo Finance - June 22nd, 2022
- International Yoga Day: Womens health & yoga - Times of India - June 22nd, 2022
- Exelixis Announces Initiation of the STELLAR-303 Phase 3 Pivotal Trial Evaluating XL092 in Patients with Metastatic Colorectal Cancer - Yahoo Finance - June 22nd, 2022
- 7 Strong Buy Dividend Aristocrats Are Safe-Haven Stocks to Own During a Recession - 24/7 Wall St. - June 22nd, 2022
- Hormone-Replacement Therapy Is Life-Changing: What to Consider Before Getting Started - POPSUGAR - June 13th, 2022
- High Doses of Widely-Used Cancer Drug in Hormonal Therapy Can Increase Risk of Brain Tumour in Women by Seven Times | The Weather Channel - Articles... - June 13th, 2022
- Latest study reveals that two male contraceptive pills could expand options for birth control - Interesting Engineering - June 13th, 2022
- Pride Week: Beginning Hormone Replacement Therapy : Short Wave - NPR - June 13th, 2022
- The heartbreak, hope and courage of a Maine transgender child - The Maine Monitor - June 13th, 2022
- Trans conversion therapy: What to expect when MPs debate ban - Open Democracy - June 13th, 2022
- If the menopause movement is to be truly revolutionary, it needs to include women with cancer - iNews - June 4th, 2022
- The Very Peri Summit Resource Centre: Hormone Replacement Therapy with Dr Yasmin Tan. - Mamamia - June 4th, 2022
- Finding the "Sweet Spot": Thyroid Hormone Treatment and Cardiovascular Disease - Endocrinology Network - June 4th, 2022
- Rethinking Identity and Testosterone in Imagine a Body - The New Yorker - June 4th, 2022
- Postmenopausal Years Are Creative and Satisfying for Women - Oprah Mag - June 4th, 2022
- Medroxyprogesterone Acetate Market by Type (Oral, Parenteral), Application (Contraceptive, Hormone Replacement Therapy, Treatment of Endometriosis,... - May 15th, 2022