GLAAD STATEMENT ON PASSAGE OF TEXAS BILL SB14 BANNING HEALTHCARE FOR TRANSGENDER YOUTH

(New York, NY – May 15, 2023) – Today members of the Texas House of Representatives passed SB14 banning life-saving healthcare for transgender youth. The bill now heads back to the Senate for final approval before being sent to Governor Abbott’s desk for his signature.

Statement from GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis:
“The passage of SB14 is a tremendous blow to transgender Texans by state legislators who refuse to recognize their basic dignity and humanity. The passage of this bill does not erase the fact that transgender young people exist, are members of our families, and will continue to be part of our communities, across Texas and the entire U.S.  We will never stop advocating for and standing with them every step of the way with the resounding message that transgender youth belong exactly as they are. Governor Abbott and other extremist Texas legislators have completely turned their backs on standards of best-practice healthcare supported by every major medical association and have overreached their power by stripping parents of their ability to make essential decisions alongside their children and doctors. Parents of transgender youth have been tireless advocates for their children –they won’t give up and neither will we. This unconstitutional, baseless bill will not stand the test of time.”

Statement below from Ricardo Martinez, CEO of Equality Texas:
“It’s not over yet. Let’s pray that our governor has the good sense to recognize that banning health care is un-American and out of step with true Texas values. Our trans neighbors deserve the same love and support that Texans give to each other every day. And we’ve seen that love come in overwhelming force this legislative session. Thousands have been at the Capitol each step of the way to show support for their trans neighbors. Real Texans support each other.

When lawmakers make decisions about who gets to access life-saving care, they are deciding who lives and who dies. That’s not a decision I trust them to make. Already they’ve caused harm to young people in Austin by meddling in medical decisions. Dell Children’s Medical Center shut down its whole adolescent care clinic, which means all young people—not just trans kids—are already feeling the brunt of this decision. It’s already difficult for LGBTQ+ people to access health care, lawmakers should be fixing that, not rubber-stamping discrimination.”

Also today, advocates in Texas ran messages on a mobile billboard in support of transgender youth. Messages included: “Let Trans Kids Grow Up”, “Trans is beautiful”, and “No law can erase the beauty of trans existence.” The ACLU of Texas, Equality Texas, HRC, Lambda Legal, the Transgender Education Network of Texas and the Texas Freedom Network sponsored the billboard. (More here: https://twitter.com/TFN/status/1658209226076958720 and https://twitter.com/ACLUTx/status/1658200748168040449)

Texas leads the nation in a record-breaking year of proposed anti-LGBTQ legislation across the country (More here: https://www.equalitytexas.org/legislature/legislative-bill-tracker-2023/) that would codify discrimination against LGBTQ Texans. Texas lawmakers are considering additional dangerous bills that would ban access to sports, ban or heavily restrict drag performances, ban discussion of LGBTQ issues or people in school curricula, and more. And just earlier this month, several transgender activists were arrested or removed from the Texas statehouse in Austin simply for protesting against SB14 or signaling public support for LGBTQ people.

Background

• Every major medical association supports healthcare for transgender people as essential and lifesaving. Statements here.
• Trevor Project polling finds that nearly 2 in 3 LGBTQ young people said that hearing about potential state or local laws banning people from discussing LGBTQ people at school (also known as “Don’t Say Gay/LGBTQ”) made their mental health a lot worse. https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2023/
• Recent polling indicates that a majority of Americans – 64% – perceive the introduction of excessive anti-LGBTQ legislation as politicians playing political theater.
• PRRI: 79% of all Americans support nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people. https://www.prri.org/research/americans-support-for-key-lgbtq-rights-continues-to-tick-upward/
• About the anti-LGBTQ bills proposed: https://www.equalityfederation.org/tracker/cumulative-anti-transgender
  • Currently, over 500 anti-LGBTQ bills have been proposed
  • Nearly 350 bills specifically target transgender people
  • This means – 80% of anti-LGBTQ bills target transgender people, and a majority of anti-trans bills target transgender youth
• As of earlier this month, the states with the highest number of anti-transgender bills are: Texas (50), Missouri (34), South Carolina (20), Iowa (19), Tennessee (18) and Oklahoma (18)
  • The percentage of trans youth age 13-17 in those states is only 0.7% to 1.4%
  • Estimated trans youth 13-17 population in those states: https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/trans-adults-united-states/
    • Texas – 1.4% of 13-17 (less than 30,000)
    • Missouri – 0.75% of 13-17 (less than 3,000)
    • South Carolina – 1.1% of 13-17 (less than 4,000)
    • Iowa – 1% of 13-17 (2,100)
    • Tennessee – 0.7% of 13-17 (3,100)
    • Oklahoma – 1% of 13-17 (2,600)
• GLAAD is documenting states advancing pro-equality legislation to protect patients seeking reproductive care and transgender healthcare, often led by out LGBTQ lawmakers.

Resources:

• GLAAD’s Guide for Media Covering State Legislation Targeting LGBTQ People
• GLAAD Media Reference Guide regarding healthcare for transgender youth, drag performance, and other best practice recommendations for reporting on the LGBTQ community