SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Thousands of New Yorkers are seen pre-pandemic on the streets on July 26, 2017 in opposition to anti-trans policy moves by then-President Donald Trump. (Photo: Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
'Abhorrent': Arkansas Poised to Deny Trans Youth Healthcare
"Stripping youth of this care even when it is recommended by their doctors, supported by their parents, and demanded by the dire situations of the youth is cruel and deadly."
Mar 30, 2021
Arkansas is poised to become the first state in the nation to ban healthcare for trans youth after state lawmakers on Monday passed House Bill 157.
The ACLU of Arkansas warned last week that the legislation, which blocks healthcare providers from providing gender-affirming care or referring patients for such care, was "one of the most extreme and harmful anti-trans bills in the country."
H.B. 1570 easily passed the state Senate Monday in a 28-7 vote. It now heads to Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson--who last week signed into law a ban on transgender girls from participating in school sports. Hutchinson is facing demands to veto H.B. 1570 because, as the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund put it, "Trans youth lives are at stake."
Critics of the measure include the American Psychological Association, American Medical Association, and American Academy of Pediatrics. Among the state Democrats opposed to the measure is Sen. Clarke Tucker, who addressed Monday the argument put forth by the Republican sponsor of H.B. 1570, state Sen. Alan Clark
The Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported:
Tucker, D-Little Rock, said bills like this have already been struck down by courts for violating the Equal Protection Clause under the U.S. Constitution and for violating the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sex under the federal Civil Rights Act.
"I absolutely have full faith in your intent, Sen. Clark, to protect kids in the state, but you have to be aware of the message that is sent when you pass a piece of legislation like this," and it's a message of discrimination to the rest of the nation, he said.
In a Twitter thread Monday, Clarke continued to speak out against the measure. "My heart breaks for our state, because I know how this bill makes us look to the nation and to the world," he tweeted.
"My heart breaks for doctors and nurses," he wrote, "who can no longer care for their patients, and even more for parents, who are no longer able to make healthcare decisions for their own kids."
"Most important, my heart breaks for transgender teenagers," Clarke continued. "With this bill, the chances go up that a transgender teenager who needs care but can't get it will attempt suicide."
Chase Strangio deputy director for Transgender Justice with the ACLU's LGBT & HIV Project, warned last week that that if H.B. 1570 becomes law, it could "likely set off a chain reaction and could encourage Alabama to pass [its] FELONY ban on healthcare for trans youth (SB10/HB1), which could be voted on next week as well."
"Stripping youth of this care even when it is recommended by their doctors, supported by their parents, and demanded by the dire situations of the youth is cruel and deadly," tweeted Stangio.
Further troubling to trans rights activists is the fact that the legislative attacks against trans youth in Arkansas are being seen across the nation. As NBC News reported:
The bill is one of two types of legislation being considered in more than two dozen states: measures that ban or restrict access to gender-affirming care for trans minors, and those that ban trans young people from competing in school sports teams of their gender identity...
In addition to Arkansas, Alabama and Tennessee are also advancing restrictions on gender-affirming care. Alabama's Senate approved a bill that would make it a felony to provide care such as puberty blockers or hormones for trans minors, and a Tennessee House Committee also just advanced a similar measure that includes misdemeanor criminal penalties.
In light of such attacks, trans advocates are amplifying messages of respect and care for the community.
In a message to trans youth posted Monday on its Facebook page, Arkansas-based social justice group Intransitive wrote: "YOU are loved."
"There is more love than there is hate. This is not the end. Please know that," the group said.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who is mother to a gender non-conforming child, condemned H.B. 1570 as amounting to "a cruel, abhorrent, and transphobic attack on human rights."
She also called for the House-passed Equality Act to become law, adding, "Let's put an end to this hate."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Arkansas is poised to become the first state in the nation to ban healthcare for trans youth after state lawmakers on Monday passed House Bill 157.
The ACLU of Arkansas warned last week that the legislation, which blocks healthcare providers from providing gender-affirming care or referring patients for such care, was "one of the most extreme and harmful anti-trans bills in the country."
H.B. 1570 easily passed the state Senate Monday in a 28-7 vote. It now heads to Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson--who last week signed into law a ban on transgender girls from participating in school sports. Hutchinson is facing demands to veto H.B. 1570 because, as the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund put it, "Trans youth lives are at stake."
Critics of the measure include the American Psychological Association, American Medical Association, and American Academy of Pediatrics. Among the state Democrats opposed to the measure is Sen. Clarke Tucker, who addressed Monday the argument put forth by the Republican sponsor of H.B. 1570, state Sen. Alan Clark
The Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported:
Tucker, D-Little Rock, said bills like this have already been struck down by courts for violating the Equal Protection Clause under the U.S. Constitution and for violating the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sex under the federal Civil Rights Act.
"I absolutely have full faith in your intent, Sen. Clark, to protect kids in the state, but you have to be aware of the message that is sent when you pass a piece of legislation like this," and it's a message of discrimination to the rest of the nation, he said.
In a Twitter thread Monday, Clarke continued to speak out against the measure. "My heart breaks for our state, because I know how this bill makes us look to the nation and to the world," he tweeted.
"My heart breaks for doctors and nurses," he wrote, "who can no longer care for their patients, and even more for parents, who are no longer able to make healthcare decisions for their own kids."
"Most important, my heart breaks for transgender teenagers," Clarke continued. "With this bill, the chances go up that a transgender teenager who needs care but can't get it will attempt suicide."
Chase Strangio deputy director for Transgender Justice with the ACLU's LGBT & HIV Project, warned last week that that if H.B. 1570 becomes law, it could "likely set off a chain reaction and could encourage Alabama to pass [its] FELONY ban on healthcare for trans youth (SB10/HB1), which could be voted on next week as well."
"Stripping youth of this care even when it is recommended by their doctors, supported by their parents, and demanded by the dire situations of the youth is cruel and deadly," tweeted Stangio.
Further troubling to trans rights activists is the fact that the legislative attacks against trans youth in Arkansas are being seen across the nation. As NBC News reported:
The bill is one of two types of legislation being considered in more than two dozen states: measures that ban or restrict access to gender-affirming care for trans minors, and those that ban trans young people from competing in school sports teams of their gender identity...
In addition to Arkansas, Alabama and Tennessee are also advancing restrictions on gender-affirming care. Alabama's Senate approved a bill that would make it a felony to provide care such as puberty blockers or hormones for trans minors, and a Tennessee House Committee also just advanced a similar measure that includes misdemeanor criminal penalties.
In light of such attacks, trans advocates are amplifying messages of respect and care for the community.
In a message to trans youth posted Monday on its Facebook page, Arkansas-based social justice group Intransitive wrote: "YOU are loved."
"There is more love than there is hate. This is not the end. Please know that," the group said.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who is mother to a gender non-conforming child, condemned H.B. 1570 as amounting to "a cruel, abhorrent, and transphobic attack on human rights."
She also called for the House-passed Equality Act to become law, adding, "Let's put an end to this hate."
Arkansas is poised to become the first state in the nation to ban healthcare for trans youth after state lawmakers on Monday passed House Bill 157.
The ACLU of Arkansas warned last week that the legislation, which blocks healthcare providers from providing gender-affirming care or referring patients for such care, was "one of the most extreme and harmful anti-trans bills in the country."
H.B. 1570 easily passed the state Senate Monday in a 28-7 vote. It now heads to Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson--who last week signed into law a ban on transgender girls from participating in school sports. Hutchinson is facing demands to veto H.B. 1570 because, as the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund put it, "Trans youth lives are at stake."
Critics of the measure include the American Psychological Association, American Medical Association, and American Academy of Pediatrics. Among the state Democrats opposed to the measure is Sen. Clarke Tucker, who addressed Monday the argument put forth by the Republican sponsor of H.B. 1570, state Sen. Alan Clark
The Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported:
Tucker, D-Little Rock, said bills like this have already been struck down by courts for violating the Equal Protection Clause under the U.S. Constitution and for violating the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sex under the federal Civil Rights Act.
"I absolutely have full faith in your intent, Sen. Clark, to protect kids in the state, but you have to be aware of the message that is sent when you pass a piece of legislation like this," and it's a message of discrimination to the rest of the nation, he said.
In a Twitter thread Monday, Clarke continued to speak out against the measure. "My heart breaks for our state, because I know how this bill makes us look to the nation and to the world," he tweeted.
"My heart breaks for doctors and nurses," he wrote, "who can no longer care for their patients, and even more for parents, who are no longer able to make healthcare decisions for their own kids."
"Most important, my heart breaks for transgender teenagers," Clarke continued. "With this bill, the chances go up that a transgender teenager who needs care but can't get it will attempt suicide."
Chase Strangio deputy director for Transgender Justice with the ACLU's LGBT & HIV Project, warned last week that that if H.B. 1570 becomes law, it could "likely set off a chain reaction and could encourage Alabama to pass [its] FELONY ban on healthcare for trans youth (SB10/HB1), which could be voted on next week as well."
"Stripping youth of this care even when it is recommended by their doctors, supported by their parents, and demanded by the dire situations of the youth is cruel and deadly," tweeted Stangio.
Further troubling to trans rights activists is the fact that the legislative attacks against trans youth in Arkansas are being seen across the nation. As NBC News reported:
The bill is one of two types of legislation being considered in more than two dozen states: measures that ban or restrict access to gender-affirming care for trans minors, and those that ban trans young people from competing in school sports teams of their gender identity...
In addition to Arkansas, Alabama and Tennessee are also advancing restrictions on gender-affirming care. Alabama's Senate approved a bill that would make it a felony to provide care such as puberty blockers or hormones for trans minors, and a Tennessee House Committee also just advanced a similar measure that includes misdemeanor criminal penalties.
In light of such attacks, trans advocates are amplifying messages of respect and care for the community.
In a message to trans youth posted Monday on its Facebook page, Arkansas-based social justice group Intransitive wrote: "YOU are loved."
"There is more love than there is hate. This is not the end. Please know that," the group said.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who is mother to a gender non-conforming child, condemned H.B. 1570 as amounting to "a cruel, abhorrent, and transphobic attack on human rights."
She also called for the House-passed Equality Act to become law, adding, "Let's put an end to this hate."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.