Ad Lies About Trans Children to Fight Abortion Rights
LGBTQ+ groups and other civil rights advocates are denouncing an ad being run by opponents of Michigan’s Proposal 3, a ballot initiative that would enshrine the right to reproductive freedom in the state constitution.The ad from Citizens to Support Michigan Women and Children claims that if Proposal 3 is passed by voters this November, children will be able to receive puberty blockers without parental consent.
Puberty blockers are often prescribed for transgender children.“If Proposal 3 passes, minors as young as 10 or 11 will be able to receive this prescription without the consent of their parents,” the ad says.The proposal doesn’t mention puberty blockers or any other gender-affirming care, and it wouldn’t override parental authorization for medical treatment, but its opponents claim there is “hidden” language in it.“This is hidden in the text of this amendment, and it would be a permanent change to the Michigan constitution,” Christen Pollo, a spokesperson for Citizens to Support Michigan Women and Children, told TV station WLNS.
The group is a coalition of anti-abortion organizations, including several that are anti-LGBTQ+ as well, such as the Michigan Family Forum and Citizens for Traditional Values.Civil rights activists say the ad is hugely misleading.
The amendment states that everyone in Michigan has a fundamental right to make their own decisions about reproductive matters, not only abortion but also prenatal and postpartum care, childbirth, contraception, sterilization, and fertility treatments.
