Kentucky, West Virginia Move to Limit Transgender Therapies For Minors

0:00

/0:00

1×

Facts

• Kentucky and West Virginia have advanced laws to limit access to gender-reassignment therapies for children. The legislations increase the total number of states attempting to restrict such treatments to 11.¹
• On Wednesday, Republican lawmakers in both chambers of the Kentucky legislature voted to override a veto by Democrat Gov. Andy Beshear, voting 29-8 in the state Senate and 76-23 in the House. During the session, 19 individuals were arrested for trespassing following protests against the measures.²
• On the same day, legislation in West Virginia was signed into law by Republican Gov. Jim Justice. The law, which is set to come into effect in January 2024, bans healthcare providers from prescribing hormone therapy and puberty blockers to anyone under 18.³
• It also bans minors from receiving gender-reassignment surgery, though physicians have argued this doesn't currently occur in the state.⁴
• However, the bill in West Virginia underwent a late amendment permitting the prescription of puberty blockers and hormones for adolescents diagnosed with severe gender dysphoria by two separate physicians.⁵
• In 2017, a study by UCLA Law's The Williams Institute estimated that West Virginia had the highest per capita rate of transgender youth in the country.⁶

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²Associated Press, ³FOX News, ⁴PBS NewsHour, ⁵Mountain state spotlight and ⁶CBS.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by Los angeles times. The consequences of the current opposition to gender-affirming care reach far beyond the transgender community. Access to hormones and surgery is a basic medical service that should not be restricted. Aside from the blatant discrimination motivating the legislation in West Virginia and Kentucky, the bills may impact treatments for menopausal women, restrict access to birth control, and more. No one should have to live with such a violation of privacy into bodily autonomy.
• Right narrative, as provided by New York Post. The trans movement has inspired a blind religious following, with Biden trying his best to be to act as priest and pastor. The left continues to use rhetoric around autonomy and liberties when, in actuality, pushing irreversible trans treatments for children is detrimental not only to them but to wider American society. More than half of Americans support a ban on transgender surgeries or hormone blockers for minors. Despite this, the left continues to turn the issue into a moral fault line against which it deigns to judge anyone and everyone.