Anti-trans healthcare bans have ‘striking’ impacts on LGBTQ adults, HRC report finds
According to findings from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 17th Annual LGBTQ+ Community Survey, the proliferation of bans on gender affirming care in conservative states have had “striking” impacts on “the health and well-being of LGBTQ+ adults.” For example, 79.1 percent of respondents reported feeling less safe as an LGBTQ person as a result of these health care restrictions, while nearly half said the policies affected the physical and/or mental health of themselves or their loved ones.
Some of the specific negative consequences of gender affirming care bans, 80.5 percent of respondents said, include the worsening of “harmful stereotypes, discrimination, hate, and stigma against the LGBTQ+ community.” HRC conducted the survey, which included more than 14,000 LGBTQ adult participants from all 50 states and D.C., in partnership with Community Marketing and Insights, publishing the findings in a report released on Thursday.
The group noted more than 80 anti-LGBTQ bills were passed in statehouses across the country so far in 2023, including bans on guideline directed gender affirming health care that are now enforced in 19 states — which, collectively, are home to a third of all trans youth in the U.S.
Along with addressing the survey questions, participants submitted written responses that provide more information and context about the ways in which their lives have been impacted by the anti-trans legislation.
