In 2023, Montana State Representative Zooey Zephyr was barred from the house floor after unapologetically telling her colleagues that passing a trans youth care ban would result in the legislature having blood on its hands. Republican lawmakers issued this punishment under the excuse of a violation of decorum, but the real motivation was transparent and obvious: Rep. Zephyr had spoken an inconvenient truth and had to be silenced.
Fast-forward to February 29, 2024, when that inconvenient truth bore repeating in Topeka, Kansas.
A pair of bills, HB 2791 and HB 2792, were given hearings in the House Health and Human Services Committee on that day. HB 2791 bans hormone replacement therapy and puberty blockers for children under 18 and creates grounds for disciplinary action and civil litigation for medical providers, and HB 2792 prohibits gender affirming surgeries on minors.
Proponents of the bills flew in the usual suspects, including detransitioner Chloe Cole, to speak in favor of their passage. In opposition were a host of medical professionals, parents of trans children, and concerned citizens who testified to the necessity of gender affirming care for trans youth. As an advocate for transgender rights in Kansas, I went to the hearing to speak to the scope of the bills, and to warn of the consequences of their passage. When my turn to speak came, I did just that. I related to the committee how Kansas’ 2,100 trans youths (aged 13-17) stand to benefit from gender affirming care, and warned that stripping away that care would, with near certainty, cost lives.
And then, I spoke the inconvenient truth.
I was immediately gaveled down by Republican Committee Chair Brenda Landwehr for “disparaging to the legislature.”
There is something Republican lawmakers seem to hate about being told they’ll have blood on their hands as a result of their transphobic lawmaking. Perhaps it’s the slightest twinge of guilt. Perhaps it’s sheer anger at being held to account. Or maybe the increased suicidality among trans youth is a feature, not a bug, and they just wish no one will notice that they engineered such an inhumane situation. Regardless of the reason, the words are magical in their ability to stir up vitriol. My friend, activist Iridescent Riffel, subsequently made a similar statement at the same hearing and was likewise gaveled down, and was told to leave the room as an extra prize.
In any case, the words must be said, even though the consequences may be harsh. Lawmakers who support banning gender affirming care for trans youth need to be reminded that they are complicit in any loss of life that results from their bigoted and harmful policy making.
Gender affirming care for trans youth is supported by many reputable medical organizations, ranging from the American Academy of Pediatrics to the American Psychological Association to the American Medical Association. Numerous studies have spoken to the mental health benefits that gender affirming care provides to trans children. One 2022 study by Tordoff and collaborators showed that gender affirming care gave a remarkable 60% reduction in depression and 73% reduction in suicidality in trans youth. It follows, then, that removing access to that care can only lead to increased suffering and dying among those youths. And the legislatures who pass care bans, I say unequivocally, will have blood on their hands for it.
It may be an inconvenient truth to extremist legislators who seek to ban trans youth healthcare, but as long as they continue their harmful lawmaking, the truth will bear repeating. And, silencing be damned, I will repeat it until the bleeding stops.
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My name is Jaelynn Abegg, and I’m from Wichita, Kansas. I’m a musician, member of the working class, citizen of the Cherokee Nation, and proud transgender woman. I’m running for State Representative in Kansas’ 105th House District because I believe a fairer, safer, healthier, and more prosperous Kansas is worth fighting for.
If you’d like to learn more about my campaign, visit my website: www.jaelynnforkansas.com.
If you’d like to contribute to my campaign, you can do so securely via ActBlue: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/jaelynn4ks