'State of crisis': Advocates warn of 'unprecedented' wave of anti-LGBTQ bills msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Apr 16, 2021 5:00 AM EDT
The rights of transgender Americans has been a growing topic of debate on sports fields, in state capitols and in Congress. The Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy organization, says more than 30 state legislatures have proposed more than 115 bills that would limit transgender rights, from participation on sports teams to access to medical care.
But two-thirds of Americans are against laws that would limit transgender rights, a new PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll found. That opposition includes majorities of every political ideology from liberal to conservative and every age group.
These proposed bills have emerged as a new culture war, with Republican state legislators introducing and voting for them amid Democratic opposition, while a majority of Americans who identify as Republicans are against such laws, according to the poll.
By Justine Coleman and Lauren Vella - 04/11/21 08:00 AM EDT
Medical experts and LGBT advocates are sounding the alarm over the physical and mental health risks to the transgender community after at least 19 state legislatures, including Arkansas, have proposed or passed bills seeking to ban trans youth treatment.
Proponents of the bills have argued that the legislation is in place to protect children from making irreversible decisions about their bodies.
But earlier this week, doctors and LGBT organizations defended treatments such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy, and warned about a potential increased suicide rate among trans youth if such legislation is enacted.
Arkansas lawmakers enact transgender youth treatment ban
FILE - In this April 8, 2020 photo, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson gives the State of the State in the senate chamber of the state Capitol in Little Rock, Ark. Hutchinson vetoed legislation that would have made his state the first to ban gender confirming treatments for transgender youth. (Tommy Metthe/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette via AP, File)
Published April 06. 2021 6:48PM
By ANDREW DeMILLO, Associated Press
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. Arkansas lawmakers on Tuesday made the state the first to ban gender confirming treatments and surgery for transgender youth, enacting the prohibition over the governor s objections.
The Republican-controlled House and Senate voted to override GOP Gov. Asa Hutchinson s veto of the measure, which prohibits doctors from providing gender confirming hormone treatment, puberty blockers or surgery to anyone under 18 years old, or from referring them to other providers for the treatment.