Late last month, Puerto Rico’s Senate voted to advance a bill that would ban health care for trans youth under the age of 21 on the island and punish parents or doctors who help youth receive this care with fines, jail time, and/or the revocation of their medical license.
Prior to the bill’s passage, parents of trans youth had lobbied governor Jennifer González to veto the bill. Instead, she returned the bill to the Senate for changes, paving the way for the recent vote to push the bill forward. Recently, Puerto Rico’s House of Representatives approved the bill and it now heads to the governor’s desk for her signature. She has 30 days to veto or sign the bill as of last week.
Organizations in Puerto Rico like the ACLU and Federación LGBTQ+ denounced the Senate’s vote. GLAAD and Puerto Rico’s Federación LGBTQ+,released the following joint statement in response to the developments:
“Every person in Puerto Rico deserves to live free from discrimination and with access to essential health care. Every major medical association supports health care for transgender people and youth. Banning this care and stripping the rights of parents to make the best medical decisions for their families would create unbearable burdens for the most marginalized in Puerto Rico. Lawmakers must vote to protect access to health care that saves lives, and allow families to make private health care decisions that help loved ones be themselves, be safe, and to thrive.”
GLAAD is supporting on-the-ground advocates in raising the alarm about the serious risk the bill poses to transgender people on the island, literally cutting them off from lifesaving care that is supported by every major medical association in the world.
Unlike in much of the contiguous U.S., Puerto Ricans are unable to just drive over to a friendly state to find alternative providers. Transgender people in the territory who lose access would be stranded if they do not have significant money and resources to explore other options for care. Nothing has changed about the care including its safety and efficacy – the bill’s movement is the direct result of an extreme environment of disinformation that’s now infecting U.S. territories where marginalized people are already under greater threat.
More information about the updates in Spanish is copied below:
Recientemente, el Senado de Puerto Rico votó a favor de una ley que prohibiría la atención médica de afirmación de género para personas trans menores de 21 años en la isla. En abril, padres de jóvenes trans le suplicaron a la gobernadora Jennifer González que vetara el proyecto de ley — en cambio, ella lo devolvió al Senado para que lo modificara, allanando el camino para la reciente votación. Organizaciones en Puerto Rico como Unión Americana de Libertades Civiles (ACLU) y la Federación LGBTQ+ denunciaron la votación del Senado, señalando que no solo vulnera los derechos de las personas trans puertorriqueñas, sino que también niega el derecho de los padres a cuidar a sus hijos y hijas y empeora el nivel de atención médica adecuada que reciben las personas LGBTQ puertorriqueñas.
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