State Rep. Fred Deutsch, the South Dakota Republican spearheading a bill that would make it a misdemeanor for physicians to provide some forms of gender-affirming health care—including puberty blockers and certain surgeries—to transgender youth, has compared such gender-affirming surgeries to Nazi medical experiments during the Holocaust. In speaking to The Washington Post, he has since said he regrets those comparisons and clarified his words, but he’s not backing off of the bill. The South Dakota House is set to vote on the bill on Wednesday, Jan. 29.
Deutsch recently spoke on Tony Perkins’ radio show. Perkins, as you might recall, is the president of the Family Research Council, a staunchly anti-LGBTQ group the Southern Poverty Law Center designates as a hate group. On the show, Deutsch explained why he wanted to introduce a bill that would literally punish physicians by up to one year in jail and up to $2,000 in fines for providing forms of gender-affirming care to patients under the age of 16.
“To me, that’s a crime against humanity when these procedures are done by these so-called doctors, that dance on the edge of medicine. … I'm the son of a Holocaust survivor,” he said on the show. “I've had family members killed in Auschwitz and I've seen the pictures of the bizarre medical experiments. I don't want that to happen to our kids and that's what's going on right now."
He made a similar comment to the Argus Leader, saying he picked up on his perceived commonalities between gender-affirming surgeries and Nazi experiments after he visited a "whole bunch of Holocaust museums all over the world" and saw pictures that seemed “similar” to him.
Deutsch then attempted to clarify his comments. “You look at photos of the Holocaust and they’re gross,” Deutsch explained to the Post. “And then you look at the scars of these children and they’re equally—I don’t know if they’re equally—they’re also gross. Sometimes you see a picture, you hear a sound, you smell something that reminds you of something else and that’s all it was.”
“Hindsight is 20/20,” he continued to the Post. “I wish I wouldn’t have opened my mouth because it takes the focus off the purpose of the bill, which is to try to help children.”
Deutsch titled his bill the “Vulnerable Child Protection Act,” but denying transgender youth gender-affirming medical care is the opposite of protecting them. As it is, transgender youth report higher rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. They often experience higher rates of bullying, assault, and are even less likely to finish high school. How can people help? Studies show that acceptance from adults helps lower suicide attempt rates and that puberty blockers help lower suicidal ideation.
There’s nothing “gross” about gender-affirming care—or transgender people. The only thing that’s “gross” is the transphobic rhetoric that’s bleeding into cultural consciousness and our lawmakers taking it as fact. Transgender youth deserve every bit of affirming, private, and safe medical care they can access. The ACLU agrees, as it’s already promised to sue if the bill becomes law.
If you want to learn more about how to support your transgender peers, check out our coverage on how to use gender-neutral pronouns, how to support transgender loved ones over the holidays, and free mental health resources.