By JOHN HANNA and MARGARET STAFFORD
yesterday
Republican Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey speaks to reporters after taking the oath of office in Jefferson City, Mo., Jan. 3, 2023. A Kansas City Council committee will consider a resolution on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, that would designate the city as a sanctuary for people seeking or providing gender-affirming care, even as the state's attorney general is proposing a new restrictions on the procedures for adults and children. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb, File)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Officials in Missouri’s largest city are moving to declare it a sanctuary for people seeking or providing gender-affirming care, defying state officials who are intent on banning it for minors and restricting it for adults.
A Kansas City Council committee approved such a resolution Wednesday. The full council will now consider it Thursday. The council members acted as the Republican-controlled Missouri Legislature gave final approval to a bill banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors, sending it to GOP Gov. Mike Parson, who is expected to sign it into law. At least 16 other states have enacted laws restricting or banning such care for minors.
The resolution also comes as a judge considers a proposed emergency rule from Republican state Attorney General Andrew Bailey that would require adults and children to undergo more than a year of therapy and fulfill other requirements before they could receive gender-affirming treatment.
“This resolution is an entrance into a conversation and shows a commitment where trans people’s presence in Kansas City is valued,” Merrique Jenson, a transgender woman and founder of Transformations KC, a nonprofit that advocates for trans women of color, told the council committee. “It would minimize the legal violence toward trans people in accessing gender-affirming care.”
The resolution, approved by the Transportation, Infrastructure and Operations Committee after being proposed by LGTBQ advocates, says the city will not prosecute or fine any person or organization that seeks, provides, receives or helps someone receive gender-affirming care such as as puberty blockers, hormones or surgery.
It also says if the state passes a law or resolution that imposes criminal or civil punishments, fines, or professional sanctions in such cases, personnel in Missouri’s largest city will make enforcing those requirements “their lowest priority.”
During the committee’s debate, council members agreed that Kansas City should be welcoming, but council member Heather Hall questioned whether the issue was “a city conversation,” adding, “This is us getting out of our lane.”
Council member Melissa Robinson had questions about how being a sanctuary city would “play out” and worried about “the damage that comes back to the city” from the state.
But she backed the resolution after saying, “I do believe in good trouble, and this might just be one of those lines of good trouble.”
Kansas City’s proposal is coming from a Democratic-leaning city in a state with a Republican governor and GOP-controlled Legislature. In Texas, the state capital of Austin declared last year that it should be considered a sanctuary for transgender youth and their families, and Harris County, home to Houston, declared it wouldn’t pursue cases against parents over gender-affirming care.
California,Minnesota and Washington have declared themselves sanctuary states for gender-affirming care, as have the cities of Chicago; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and West Hollywood, California.
Republican state lawmakers across the U.S. who’ve attacked gender-affirming care as part of a larger effort to roll back LGBTQ+ rights have argued that they’re protecting children from decisions they may later regret. But gender-affirming care for minors has been available in the U.S. for more than a decade and is endorsed by major medical associations.
The resolution also says city personnel will not arrest or detain anyone sought by another jurisdiction for seeking gender-affirming care, respond to requests for information from other jurisdictions, or collect any civil penalties in such cases.
Supporters noted that Kansas City’s police force is controlled by a state-appointed Board of Police Commissioners and any possible criminal charges in gender-affirming cases would be filed by the county prosecutor rather than city prosecutors — both of which could make enforcing the resolution problematic.
___
Hanna reported from Topeka, Kansas.
Republican Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey speaks to reporters after taking the oath of office in Jefferson City, Mo., Jan. 3, 2023. A Kansas City Council committee will consider a resolution on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, that would designate the city as a sanctuary for people seeking or providing gender-affirming care, even as the state's attorney general is proposing a new restrictions on the procedures for adults and children. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb, File)KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Officials in Missouri’s largest city are moving to declare it a sanctuary for people seeking or providing gender-affirming care, defying state officials who are intent on banning it for minors and restricting it for adults.
A Kansas City Council committee approved such a resolution Wednesday. The full council will now consider it Thursday. The council members acted as the Republican-controlled Missouri Legislature gave final approval to a bill banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors, sending it to GOP Gov. Mike Parson, who is expected to sign it into law. At least 16 other states have enacted laws restricting or banning such care for minors.
The resolution also comes as a judge considers a proposed emergency rule from Republican state Attorney General Andrew Bailey that would require adults and children to undergo more than a year of therapy and fulfill other requirements before they could receive gender-affirming treatment.
“This resolution is an entrance into a conversation and shows a commitment where trans people’s presence in Kansas City is valued,” Merrique Jenson, a transgender woman and founder of Transformations KC, a nonprofit that advocates for trans women of color, told the council committee. “It would minimize the legal violence toward trans people in accessing gender-affirming care.”
The resolution, approved by the Transportation, Infrastructure and Operations Committee after being proposed by LGTBQ advocates, says the city will not prosecute or fine any person or organization that seeks, provides, receives or helps someone receive gender-affirming care such as as puberty blockers, hormones or surgery.
It also says if the state passes a law or resolution that imposes criminal or civil punishments, fines, or professional sanctions in such cases, personnel in Missouri’s largest city will make enforcing those requirements “their lowest priority.”
During the committee’s debate, council members agreed that Kansas City should be welcoming, but council member Heather Hall questioned whether the issue was “a city conversation,” adding, “This is us getting out of our lane.”
Council member Melissa Robinson had questions about how being a sanctuary city would “play out” and worried about “the damage that comes back to the city” from the state.
But she backed the resolution after saying, “I do believe in good trouble, and this might just be one of those lines of good trouble.”
Kansas City’s proposal is coming from a Democratic-leaning city in a state with a Republican governor and GOP-controlled Legislature. In Texas, the state capital of Austin declared last year that it should be considered a sanctuary for transgender youth and their families, and Harris County, home to Houston, declared it wouldn’t pursue cases against parents over gender-affirming care.
California,Minnesota and Washington have declared themselves sanctuary states for gender-affirming care, as have the cities of Chicago; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and West Hollywood, California.
Republican state lawmakers across the U.S. who’ve attacked gender-affirming care as part of a larger effort to roll back LGBTQ+ rights have argued that they’re protecting children from decisions they may later regret. But gender-affirming care for minors has been available in the U.S. for more than a decade and is endorsed by major medical associations.
The resolution also says city personnel will not arrest or detain anyone sought by another jurisdiction for seeking gender-affirming care, respond to requests for information from other jurisdictions, or collect any civil penalties in such cases.
Supporters noted that Kansas City’s police force is controlled by a state-appointed Board of Police Commissioners and any possible criminal charges in gender-affirming cases would be filed by the county prosecutor rather than city prosecutors — both of which could make enforcing the resolution problematic.
___
Hanna reported from Topeka, Kansas.
North Carolina hospitals: We are not ‘transitioning’ toddlers
By PHILIP MARCELO
By PHILIP MARCELO
May 9, 2023
A family walks by an LGBTQ pride mural in downtown Raleigh, N.C., just a few blocks away from the Legislative Building, on Nov. 16, 2022.
A family walks by an LGBTQ pride mural in downtown Raleigh, N.C., just a few blocks away from the Legislative Building, on Nov. 16, 2022.
The Associated Press on Tuesday, May 9, 2023 reported on false claims circulating on social media that three North Carolina healthcare systems are diagnosing toddlers with gender dysphoria and transitioning them to the other gender.
(AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum, File)
CLAIM: Three North Carolina healthcare systems are diagnosing toddlers with gender dysphoria and “transitioning” them.
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. Officials with Duke Health, University of North Carolina Health and ECU Health say that while they do accept young children as patients, staff only provide general counseling to parents and families at that age. They do not offer medical procedures such as gender-affirming surgeries or hormone treatments to toddlers.
THE FACTS: As North Carolina lawmakers weigh legislation restricting gender-affirming surgeries to adults, some social media users are suggesting some of the state’s most prominent medical institutions are already offering such medical interventions in toddlers.
Many are sharing a graphic that claims Duke Health is “starting gender transitions” at 2 years old while UNC Health begins it at 3 years old and ECU Health at 4 years old.
“Top medical schools in the state are now transitioning toddlers and training future primary care doctors on how to engage in the experimental treatment,” the text included with the graphic reads.
“Yes, you read that correctly,” wrote one Twitter user who shared the graphic in a post that’s been liked or shared more than 56,000 times as of Tuesday. “If a 2 year old girl picks up a truck instead a Barbie, that is proof to these activist doctors that she’s actually supposed to be a boy.”
The claims stem from a blog post from a conservative group supporting the North Carolina transgender surgery bill, which cites as evidence a 2016 newspaper interview with the head of Duke’s gender clinic in which she referenced having patients as young as 2.
The blog post also cites a patient form used by UNC’s gender clinic which purports to show that children as young as 3 are offered “psychoeducation and support for child and family” and other services.
But Duke Health said clinic staff simply provide support and counsel to families with young children wrestling with their gender identity. For prepubescent children, “there is parental support, but no testing, no treatment, not anything,” officials said in a written statement.
UNC Health, in a separate response, said parents with young children can request a meeting or counseling session, but the psychiatry team won’t meet with the actual child until they’re at least school age.
“To be clear: UNC Health does not offer any gender-transitioning care for toddlers,” the statement read. “We do not perform any gender-affirming surgical procedures or medical interventions on toddlers. Also, we are not doing any gender-affirming research or clinical trials involving children.”
ECU Health similarly rejected the claims as “dangerous misinformation.”
“To be clear: ECU Health does not offer gender affirming surgery to minors nor does the health system offer gender affirming transition care to toddlers,” it said in a written statement.
The healthcare providers also stressed that a toddler’s toy preference has nothing to do with gender dysphoria, despite what the social media posts suggest.
“It’s dangerous and reckless to post such incendiary claims online, and we are increasingly worried about threats to our providers and patients,” UNC Health said in its statement.
Like providers across the country, the three North Carolina health systems are following medical guidelines that have been in place for decades, according to healthcare experts and transgender advocates.
Those standards generally call for small, social changes to help pre-adolescent children dealing with gender dysphoria, such as a new haircut, name, clothing or even a change in pronouns, explained Ash Orr, a spokesperson for the National Center on Transgender Equality, a Washington-based advocacy group.
“At a young age, all children need love and encouragement to be who they are, do things that make them happy, and enjoy being a kid,” he wrote in an email, noting that surveys have found that nearly a third of transgender adults say they began to feel different from their assigned gender at birth as early as 5 years old.
Kellan Baker, executive director at the Whitman-Walker Institute, a Washington, D.C., research group focused on LGBTQ+ health issues, agreed.
“The process of gender affirmation is different for each person and is guided by patients and providers working together, and with families for minors, to identify and meet the patient’s medical needs,” he wrote in an email.
CLAIM: Three North Carolina healthcare systems are diagnosing toddlers with gender dysphoria and “transitioning” them.
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. Officials with Duke Health, University of North Carolina Health and ECU Health say that while they do accept young children as patients, staff only provide general counseling to parents and families at that age. They do not offer medical procedures such as gender-affirming surgeries or hormone treatments to toddlers.
THE FACTS: As North Carolina lawmakers weigh legislation restricting gender-affirming surgeries to adults, some social media users are suggesting some of the state’s most prominent medical institutions are already offering such medical interventions in toddlers.
Many are sharing a graphic that claims Duke Health is “starting gender transitions” at 2 years old while UNC Health begins it at 3 years old and ECU Health at 4 years old.
“Top medical schools in the state are now transitioning toddlers and training future primary care doctors on how to engage in the experimental treatment,” the text included with the graphic reads.
“Yes, you read that correctly,” wrote one Twitter user who shared the graphic in a post that’s been liked or shared more than 56,000 times as of Tuesday. “If a 2 year old girl picks up a truck instead a Barbie, that is proof to these activist doctors that she’s actually supposed to be a boy.”
The claims stem from a blog post from a conservative group supporting the North Carolina transgender surgery bill, which cites as evidence a 2016 newspaper interview with the head of Duke’s gender clinic in which she referenced having patients as young as 2.
The blog post also cites a patient form used by UNC’s gender clinic which purports to show that children as young as 3 are offered “psychoeducation and support for child and family” and other services.
But Duke Health said clinic staff simply provide support and counsel to families with young children wrestling with their gender identity. For prepubescent children, “there is parental support, but no testing, no treatment, not anything,” officials said in a written statement.
UNC Health, in a separate response, said parents with young children can request a meeting or counseling session, but the psychiatry team won’t meet with the actual child until they’re at least school age.
“To be clear: UNC Health does not offer any gender-transitioning care for toddlers,” the statement read. “We do not perform any gender-affirming surgical procedures or medical interventions on toddlers. Also, we are not doing any gender-affirming research or clinical trials involving children.”
ECU Health similarly rejected the claims as “dangerous misinformation.”
“To be clear: ECU Health does not offer gender affirming surgery to minors nor does the health system offer gender affirming transition care to toddlers,” it said in a written statement.
The healthcare providers also stressed that a toddler’s toy preference has nothing to do with gender dysphoria, despite what the social media posts suggest.
“It’s dangerous and reckless to post such incendiary claims online, and we are increasingly worried about threats to our providers and patients,” UNC Health said in its statement.
Like providers across the country, the three North Carolina health systems are following medical guidelines that have been in place for decades, according to healthcare experts and transgender advocates.
Those standards generally call for small, social changes to help pre-adolescent children dealing with gender dysphoria, such as a new haircut, name, clothing or even a change in pronouns, explained Ash Orr, a spokesperson for the National Center on Transgender Equality, a Washington-based advocacy group.
“At a young age, all children need love and encouragement to be who they are, do things that make them happy, and enjoy being a kid,” he wrote in an email, noting that surveys have found that nearly a third of transgender adults say they began to feel different from their assigned gender at birth as early as 5 years old.
Kellan Baker, executive director at the Whitman-Walker Institute, a Washington, D.C., research group focused on LGBTQ+ health issues, agreed.
“The process of gender affirmation is different for each person and is guided by patients and providers working together, and with families for minors, to identify and meet the patient’s medical needs,” he wrote in an email.
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