North Carolina Bans Gender-Reassignment Care

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Facts

  • The North Carolina Legislature voted to override a series of vetoes by Gov. Roy Cooper Wednesday, passing the Parents’ Bill of Rights, Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, and House Bill 808, which bans medical professionals from giving children puberty blockers and performing gender-reassignment surgery on children.1
  • North Carolina is now the 22nd state to restrict or ban gender reassignment-care for minors, as Republican supermajorities in the state House and Senate allowed for a resounding veto override. The chambers voted 73-46 and 27-18, respectively, to override the veto.2
  • The Legislature also enacted a "Parents’ Bill of Rights" which “codifies the rights of parents and guardians to guarantee their direct involvement in their child's education." The law will require educators to inform parents if their child asks to use other pronouns or names for them.3
  • Meanwhile, the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, HB 574, prohibits biological males from competing in women’s sports. The law applies to middle school, high school, and college teams and requires teams to designate themselves as male-only, female-only, or coed (i.e. mixed).4
  • The ban on child gender-reassignment care drew particular criticism from LGBTQ+ activists who claim the treatment saves the lives of many transgender youth. The ban takes effect immediately, but those who started treatment before Aug. 1 can continue if their doctor deems it medically necessary.5
  • The House vetoed six bills in total: non-cultural bills related to charter schools and building code procedures; two charter school bills aim to expand access and approval of charter schools were also passed.6

Sources: 1FOX News, 2CBS, 3Witn, 4CNN, 5Associated Press, and 6ABC11 Raleigh.

Narratives

  • Republican narrative, as provided by Daily Wire. North Carolina’s Legislature stepped up to the plate and protected the rights of children, parents, and women against the Democrats’ radical gender ideology. Gender reassignment surgery risks causing irreparable harm and should not be practiced on children lacking the maturity to make such life-altering decisions. Meanwhile, biological males are infringing on women's and girls’ spaces by competing in women’s sports. These new laws are common sense.
  • Democratic narrative, as provided by Vox. The GOP has made declaring war on the LGBTQ+ community its number one priority, particularly targeting the rights of the trans community. Medical professionals agree that gender-affirming care has saved the lives of many young trans people. This is a deep crisis for transgender people who live in North Carolina and similar states.