On Wednesday, the Texas House heard testimony debating HB 1399, a bill which would ban gender-affirming care for transgender young people.
The bill would prohibit doctors from providing evidence-based, best practice medical care for transgender young people under 18.
Many parents of transgender children spoke on Wednesday about the danger of this bill. One parent said, “why are you bullying my kid instead of expanding access to health care?”
Another person testifying said: “It’s critical for children to receive trans-affirming care. There was a study published in 2014 in the Mental Health Review Journal that when kids received trans-affirming care, suicide rates dropped from 67% to 3%”.
“If these bills do pass, we will have to move out of the state, along with many other families,” said another parent.
Brian Klosterboer, staff attorney with the ACLU of Texas, said, “This bill is an unconstitutional attempt to deny transgender Texans the right to exist. At a time when our state is facing numerous crises, HB 1399 would violate parents’ fundamental right to provide the best possible health care for their kids, usurp doctors’ ability to provide critical and life-saving care, and unlawfully target and discriminate against transgender kids. It also could leave taxpayers footing the bill for legislation that tramples on some of our most fundamental constitutional rights. If lawmakers insist on moving this bill forward, we will see them in court.”
Sources: Texas Legislature Online; Twitter 5/12/21; ACLU of Texas 5/11/21
