There are hundreds of anti-trans bills working their way through the legislative process throughout the U.S.
Many involve bans on trans-affirming healthcare for youth and some even seek to ban affirming care up to the age of 26. These attacks on bodily autonomy do not only harm trans youth, they attack our whole community.
We need a sweeping call to solidarity to inspire everyone to defend the rights of trans youth. Let’s educate ourselves and dispel the misinformation about trans-affirming, age-appropriate healthcare. If you think this topic is about genital surgery on children, it’s time to reevaluate where you get your news and information.
Trans young people need access to competent care providers who can treat them with dignity and compassion. Denying them access to this not only strips them of their basic human rights, but it tells them that they do not deserve adequate care. It is dehumanizing.
I want us all to care about this because these young people need our support. But if folks need a reason beyond that, let me be clear: these acts of legislative violence are only the beginning. Bullies may start off with an easy target, and right now that target is trans young people, but it always escalates.
If you think your rights are safe — because you are an adult, or you aren’t a trans person — please know that your basic civil rights are also on the line. The fervor stirred up in Tallahassee, and throughout this nation, will not stop with trans youth.
When trans kids tell us that they need care, we should listen to them. We should advocate for them. Doctors should be commended, not threatened, when they provide the support they need to live in their bodies. Because without that care, these young people may well choose to stop living altogether.
Young trans people are being used as political pawns by lawmakers. Who is fueling the fire behind these bills? It’s largely people who call themselves Christians, particularly those who put the title “Rev.” in front of their names.
When Jesus healed people, he gave them what they need to feel whole in their bodies. He made them feel complete and provided them with the tools they needed to survive. Why, then, are so many Christians determined to do the opposite? Why do the people who claim to follow Jesus want to prevent people from experiencing wholeness in their bodies? I will never understand how people who call themselves followers of Christ actively work to prevent anyone access to lifesaving and lifegiving healthcare.
As a pastor myself, I am ashamed of clergypersons who use their faith to do harm. I try to love them like Jesus would love them — because Jesus did have a soft spot for the misguided — but it is difficult, and I am not Jesus. As a person of faith, I do hope they can someday repent for the harm they cause. I say this as a pastor and as a transgender person.
I have survived to become a middle-aged man because of the care I received as a young trans person. I share this part of my story because visibility matters.
Maybe some kid will see this and feel a little bit more supported, reading the words of someone who has been through similar challenges to what they are facing.
As a teen and young adult, I was simply reaching for survival, but with support and care I somehow managed to do more than just survive. I want that for today’s youth.
We all need to understand this fight and speak out against the lies being told in pulpits and in capitol buildings. Trans-affirming healthcare refers to providing necessary, and often lifesaving, psychological and medical support. For trans youth, this generally means speaking to affirming and well-trained mental health professionals. It requires enough safety for them to be honest with medical care providers about how they feel in their bodies and identities.
In some cases, a medical professional might determine that it is appropriate for a young person to take medication to delay the onset of the secondary sex characteristics that develop in puberty. This medication, known as puberty blockers, allows young people time to emotionally grow and mature, while delaying the effects of puberty. It provides time to experiment socially, and even gives them the chance to change their minds.
Puberty blockers have been in use for non-trans youth for decades to stop the effects of puberty when it develops too early in life. Lawmakers are trying to ban access to this medication for trans kids, but not for their non-trans counterparts. While I am glad that some kids will still have access to their medication, I despair for those who are denied.
For older teens, when deemed medically appropriate, some might be prescribed additional hormone treatment. In some cases, chest reconstruction surgeries are possible as they approach or enter adulthood. It is important to note that the bills that aim to prevent trans youth from having reconstructive chest surgeries do not restrict access to similar cosmetic surgery for minors who are not transgender, which is legal in many states.
Transgender kids make up very small percentage of the population of U.S. youth. However, their lives are being debated by lawmakers, faith leaders and society at large. The time is now to show them that their lives have value and are worth protecting.
We have the ability right now to fight for them, so that they know that they can survive this difficult time in their lives and this difficult time in our nation. Don’t let political games steal the lives of the children of our community.
Rev. Jakob Hero-Shaw is the senior pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church of Tampa, MCCTampa.com. He and his husband are the proud parents of two teenagers.
