May 11, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — On May 18, the California legislature will vote on AB 2218, a bill that seeks to establish a $15 million government fund for “gender-affirming healthcare services, such as hormone therapy or gender assignment surgery.”
The contents of this bill should concern everyone because the medical treatments covered under it are harmful to both minors and adults. No one should want taxpayer dollars to be used for “creating or funding existing programs focused on coordinating trans-inclusive health care, as defined, for people that identify as transgender, gender nonconforming, or intersex” as the bill states.
The statistics stated in the bill itself raise red flags: “One in five transgender adults in California have attempted suicide” and “transgender adults are significantly more likely to report having a disability due to a physical, mental, or emotional condition, 60 percent compared to 27 percent” of non-transgender adults.
Are the statistics related to a lack of funding for transgender health care, or are the high number of suicide attempts and higher disability reports related to the damage caused by undergoing the medical treatments this bill seeks to fund?
Consider these sobering facts presented by Drs. Michelle Cretella, Quentin Van Meter and Paul McHugh of the American College of Pediatricians:
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Puberty-blocking hormones “induce a state of disease — the absence of puberty — and inhibit growth and fertility in a previously biologically healthy child.”
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“According to the DSM-5, as many as 98 percent of gender-confused boys and 88 percent of gender-confused girls eventually accept their biological sex after naturally passing through puberty.”
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Children who take puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones “will never be able to conceive any genetically related children even via artificial reproductive technology.”
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For both children and adults, cross-sex hormones (testosterone and estrogen) are associated with dangerous health risks including but not limited to cardiac disease, high blood pressure, blood clots, stroke, diabetes, and cancer.
Why would any taxpayer want to fund treatments that introduce disease into a child’s healthy body or that increase the risk of cardiac disease and other illnesses in healthy children and adults?
This bill also states that the funds will be available only in partnership with “trans-led organizations.” No funds will be available to organizations that attempt to dissuade children and adults from undergoing these treatments, which can cause severe emotional, physical, and mental disabilities.
According to the bill, healthcare providers must “partner” with and “consult” a “trans-led organization throughout the process of creating and implementing its trans-inclusive health care program.” In other words, it seems the “trans-led organization” would have equal if not greater authority in determining what is medically best for an individual — not the medical professionals. How can that be wise?
Act now to voice your objection to AB 2218. Write a brief letter and upload it into the California Assembly portal no later than Tuesday, May 12, at 12 p.m. (Pacific Time). The harmful effects of puberty blockers to children should not be minimized or ignored. Neither should the dangerous physical, mental, and emotional effects on both children and adults who take cross-sex hormones be discounted.
Let your voice be heard.