South Dakota Ends Trans Group's Contract After Right-Wing Outcry
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s administration has canceled a contract with a transgender organization after right-wing media denounced the group.The organization, the Transformation Project, lost its contract with the South Dakota Department of Health, with the department saying it failed to meet several contractual obligations.
Officials with the Transformation Project say this is a bogus excuse.The Daily Signal, a right-wing site, reported last week that it “drew the governor’s attention” to the group and its plan to cohost the Midwest Gender Identity Summit in January with Sanford Health, which operates hospitals and other health care institutions.The Signal claimed the Transformation Project “celebrates controversial medical interventions for minors and hosts events in which people ritually ‘burn’ their ‘old name or pronouns.’” The publication also critiqued the summit for promoting gender-affirming care, which the Signal described as “experimental medicine.” In truth, this care is neither experimental nor particularly controversial; it’s endorsed by the American Medical Association and other major health groups.But the Transformation Project’s contract was quickly canceled, and Noem, a Republican with a history of anti-LGBTQ+ and particularly anti-trans stances, gave this statement to the Signal: “South Dakota does not support this organization’s efforts, and state government should not be participating in them.
