Latest news with #gendertransition
Washington Post
23-05-2025
- Health
- Washington Post
All Medicaid gender transition care is cut in late addition to GOP tax bill
Transgender people of all ages would no longer receive gender transition care through Medicaid under a late addition to the massive tax and immigration legislation the House passed this week. The measure marks an escalation from Republicans in Washington, whose efforts to crackdown on transgender care have mainly focused on treatments for children and adolescents.
Fox News
21-05-2025
- Health
- Fox News
Marjorie Taylor Greene pushes bill to punish those who perform gender transition measures on minors
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene introduced a bill to punish those who perform gender transition measures on minors. "Left-wing activists and medical institutions are targeting America's children with dangerous drugs, disfiguring surgeries, and permanent sterilization," Greene said, according to a press release. "My bill stops the mutilation of kids and holds those responsible for performing or facilitating these barbaric procedures accountable." The bill would punish those who commit chemical castration of minors, or perform or attempt to perform "genital or bodily mutilation" on minors in circumstances linked to "interstate or foreign commerce," or when it occurs "within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, or any territory or possession of the United States." The bill indicates that chemical castration refers to puberty blockers and supraphysiologic doses of testosterone and estrogen. The "Protect Children's Innocence Act of 2025" would slap offenders with a fine, imprisonment of not over a decade, or both. The proposal would allow exceptions in certain circumstances, one of which would be if necessary for the minor's health, though the measure stipulates that this "does not include a mental health disorder." Markup for the measure in the House Judiciary Committee is scheduled for Tuesday. The proposal is supported by dozens of other House Republican cosponsors, Greene's press release indicates. President Donald Trump issued an order earlier this year to help protect children from radical gender-ideology-related measures. The order declares that "it is the policy of the United States that it will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called 'transition' of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures."
BBC News
19-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Former Tory MP Jamie Wallis in court accused of harassing ex-wife
A former Conservative MP will stand trial accused of harassing their Wallis, who is now known as Katie Wallis and uses female pronouns, represented Bridgend from 2019 to 2024. The 40-year-old from Butetown in Cardiff appeared at the city's magistrates' court on Monday and pleaded not guilty to harassing Rebecca Wallis between 14 February and 21 March by making unwanted phone calls, sending unwanted messages and voice notes and driving past her evidence was offered on a previous charge of stalking. Ms Wallis, who is the first MP to openly begin the process of gender transitioning, told the court: "Legally I am known as Jamie, but I prefer to be known as Katie."Narita Bahra, defending, said she would be seeking a psychiatric report for her client ahead of the case was postponed until 17 June.
Daily Mail
18-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
NHS is directing trans patients to 'gender construction kit' on how to use wigs and make-up
The NHS is directing patients to use a ' gender construction kit' which advises them on how to use wigs and make-up to look like women. It also offers tips on using nail varnish, eyelash extensions, perfume, and the correct underwear to transition to their desired gender. The advice, which has been published on a website, lists different gender pronouns would-be transitioners could choose from, including the options 'Zie', 'Fae', and 'Spivak'. The 'kit' also gives patients advice on the use of hormones to reduce body hair, suppress libido, and reduce fertility. The advice, which has been shared by NHS trusts across the country, also has information on surgeries to reduce the size of the Adam's apple, remove or enlarge breasts, as well as the removal of genitalia and replacement with imitations. NHS trusts such as Leeds and York, Sussex, Devon, and Cumbria Northumberland and Tyne and Wear, have all included the 'gender construction kit' on their websites. The website has a layout with a series of categories listed beneath the header 'Here's how to change your…' The categories include hair of all kinds, hands, muscles, upper and lower body, clothes, NHS records, voice, hair, lower body, clothes, fragrance, voices, menstruation, fertility, and libido. One page on the website has information about makeup lessons and links to YouTube tutorials where readers can learn more The kit seems to be encouraging readers, advising them to 'listen to your discomfort' adding: 'Are there things about your body that make you uncomfortable? Do you feel like something is wrong when you do something in particular? 'Perhaps you feel jealous that other people get to use clothes, names, or words that you can't, or unable to shake the feeling that you aren't the way other people see you?' In the introduction to the kit, it states that these things can be changed, and suggests that patients 'try different underwear'. The website explains that readers do not need permission to begin changing their gender identity, claiming 'you don't need to see a doctor before you start'. It adds that it is best to begin trying to change gender markers before being entirely certain about the process, stating: 'It can be really tempting to wait until you feel more certain about things, but that uncertainty probably won't go away just from waiting. 'The best way to find out what's right for you is to try things out.' Inside each section of the website, there is different advice depending on the topic. For instance, the hair section suggests using wigs; the fragrance section perfume and deodorant; the hands nail varnish; and the face section suggests using Botox, fake tan, and eyelash extensions. The lower body section offers advice on wearing corsets and packing underwear. The upper body section suggests breast binding, but it includes a lengthy health warning about the method. Health warnings are also included in other sections of the guidance, including for the use of the female sex hormone oestrogen to grow breasts, and the male hormone testosterone to attain a more masculine appearance. Some sections of the website have links to academic literature in the reference section, with links to allow the reader to learn more about the information. But it is not clear who exactly wrote the guidance, which is now being spread around the taxpayer-funded health service. The website contains no official credits or mention of any individuals, stating only that it is 'made for UK queers by UK queers'. At the end of the web page, there are links to more 'UK community-made resources'. The advice has been criticised by campaigners who are pushing back against the spread of gender ideology. Helen Joyce, an author and co-founder of Sex Matters, told the Telegraph: 'This isn't healthcare, and it's dangerous. NHS trusts should immediately remove any link to the kit and investigate it was possible that they endorsed something so harmful and misguided.' She added distress about your sex has become far more common in the past decade due in large part because schools, universities and healthcare professionals have spread that discomfort with your body may be down to 'gender identity'. The Cambridge-educated gender critical activist said: 'It's as if embarking on a lifetime of trying to fool yourself and everyone else about which sex you are is no more serious than a children's dress-up game.' She argued the 'worst thing' about the kit is that it trivialises serious, permanent medical interventions like castration and hysterectomy by presenting them alongside smaller steps like perfume and false eyelashes. The concerns about the gender advice provided by the NHS comes amid a growing push-back against 'gender ideology' which had taken root at the institution over the past few years. Campaigners against the policy won a momentous victory last month when won a legal case in the Supreme Court where it ruled that references to 'men' and 'women' in the Equality Act refer to biological sex. The case, which was brought by the campaign group For Women Scotland, has been hailed as a landmark ruling which could cause public institutions to turn away from gender ideology. The ideology rests on the assumption that humans become whatever gender they personally identify with, or not belong to any gender at all. So far, the Supreme Court ruling has led some organisations to preserve gendered spaces strictly for those of the appropriate biological sex. One of the most important instances was when the Football Association banned the inclusion of transgender women in women's football. The FA had said there were fewer than 30 transgender women registered among millions of amateur players. Other public bodies and institutions are still preparing to respond to the judgment with updated policies.
Associated Press
14-05-2025
- Health
- Associated Press
Montana judge finds transgender care ban unconstitutional
A state district court judge in Missoula on Tuesday ruled that a 2023 state law banning many gender transition-related medical services for transgender minors is unconstitutional, prohibiting its enforcement. The 59-page ruling from district court Judge Jason Marks found that Senate Bill 99, backed by Republicans largely along party lines during the legislative session two years ago, violates the Montana Constitution's rights to privacy, equal protection and free speech. The law had been temporarily enjoined before it was scheduled to take effect. The Montana Supreme Court upheld that block in 2024. The court found that plaintiffs, including transgender teen Phoebe Cross and other minor patients, their parents and medical providers, successfully presented evidence that the law undermines their constitutional rights by curbing access to medical treatments for gender dysphoria, such as puberty blockers and hormones. The ruling said state attorneys, meanwhile, failed to meet the legal burden of proof that SB 99 properly responded to a legitimate medical risk or was narrowly tailored to achieve the government's interests. 'Defendants are unable to clearly and convincingly establish that a bona fide health risk exists. They have not put forth any evidence showing major medical organizations in the United States have changed their stance on gender-affirming medical care. Instead, they argue that no medical consensus exists on the benefits of gender-affirming care. This is the incorrect standard. The question is whether a medically acknowledged, bona fide health risk exists,' Marks wrote. All parties agreed that the banned treatments, like all medical services, pose some degree of risk to patients, the judge found. But allowing the state to interfere in medical decisions because of the presence of any risk would be irrational, Marks noted. Similarly, he dismissed the state's arguments that some medical professionals disagree about the proper course of care for gender dysphoria. 'If some disagreement among medical professionals were enough to create a medically acknowledged, bona fide health risk, every medical treatment would … be subject to state interference,' he ruled. The decision referenced a long history of Montana court rulings supporting bodily autonomy and privacy in medical decision-making, many of which arose from litigation about abortion restrictions. Those rulings created and have reinforced a high bar for the state to interfere with medical care. Marks specifically referenced the 1999 Montana Supreme Court ruling in Armstrong v. State that found abortion access is protected by the Constitution's right of individual privacy. 'Importantly, the 'legal standards for medical practice and procedure cannot be based on political ideology, but, rather, must be grounded in the methods and procedures of science and in the collective professional judgment, knowledge and experience of the medical community acting through the state's medical examining and licensing authorities,'' the judge wrote, quoting Armstrong. Marks also found that SB 99 unconstitutionally infringed on the free speech of medical providers by prohibiting the use of state funds to promote or advocate for the banned procedures. Among other provisions, the law would have barred physicians from referring a patient for gender transition-related treatment, even in other states. 'Therefore, the Court must find that SB 99 is a content-based regulation and invidiously discriminates on the basis of viewpoint,' the judge found. 'This goes beyond any permissible regulation of conduct. It unconstitutionally bars providers from telling minors and their parents that gender-affirming medical care, which is endorsed and cited as authoritative by major medical associations in the United States for treating gender dysphoria, is an option.' Representatives from the ACLU of Montana and Lambda Legal, civil rights groups that represented the plaintiffs in the case, celebrated the ruling in Tuesday evening statements. Cross, the lead plaintiff, said he would 'never understand' why lawmakers passed the law. 'It's great that the courts, including the Montana Supreme Court, have seen this law for what it was, discriminatory, and today have thrown it out for good,' he said. Press secretaries for Attorney General Austin Knudsen, whose office represented the state in the lawsuit, did not respond to a request for comment about the ruling. The state could appeal the decision to the Montana Supreme Court. ___ This story was originally published by Montana Free Press and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
