Rep. Lee Finke (DFL-St. Paul) wants to protect transgender people, their families, and medical practitioners from the legal ramifications of traveling to Minnesota to receive gender-affirming care.
Such health care includes a variety of social and medical interventions to confirm someone’s inner gender identity, such as puberty blockers, heterosexual hormones, permanent hair loss, voice therapy, and surgical interventions. increase.
“This need is acute in my community. This is not a hypothetical scenario,” said Finke. “We now have gender-diverse people in Minnesota who are receiving gender-affirming care.
Finke’s sponsor HF146It aims to establish Minnesota as a “trans-refuge” state by preventing out-of-state laws from interfering with gender-affirming healthcare practices here.
House Judiciary, Finance and Civil Law Committee fix The bill was submitted on Tuesday and submitted for future consideration.
Specifically, this measure would allow enforcement of a court order seeking the removal of a child, or child protection measures pending in Minnesota, when another state’s law permits a child to be separated from its parents. prohibits enforcement of another state’s laws that apply to Caregivers to receive medically necessary or mental health care that respects the patient’s gender identity.
Finke said anti-trans laws enacted or proposed in other states have created a culture of fear among children and their parents, as well as adults, who move to another state to receive gender-affirming health care. He said there are
Nearly 250 bills are under consideration in 32 states to identify transgender people who discriminate against their privacy, family relationships, and access to public facilities and health care, said MNclusive chairman. One Christa Mosen said:
“Gender-affirming care is health care,” says Dr. Angela Cade Goepfeld, Medical Director of Children’s Minnesota’s Gender Health Program. “This is professional health care and evidence-based care delivered by a team with the training and expertise that is similar to the other pediatric specialties we serve children in Minnesota Children. .”
She said all major medical societies in the country support gender-affirming care, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychological Association, the Centers for Disease Control, and the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. rice field.
According to Goepferd, research shows that for young people who identify as transgender, gender-affirming care reduces emotional distress, has a positive effect on overall well-being, and reduces suicidal thoughts. I can.
