Transgender 9-Year-Old Sues State For Access to Medical Care
Newsweek has reached out to the North Carolina Medical Board and Roy Cooper via email for further comment.This comes after many conservative states have continued to push for gender-affirming restrictions, especially regarding minors as supporters of the bans argue that transgender people should wait until they are legally adults before making these decisions.This led to House Bill 808 being passed in North Carolina while Republican Senator Joyce Krawiec, the bill's primary sponsor, argued the state has a responsibility to protect children from receiving potentially irreversible procedures before they are old enough to make their own informed medical decisions.Critics say gender-affirming care restrictions are an infringement on the rights of families to make their own health decisions.In addition, according to AP, major medical organizations including the American Medical Association have opposed the bans on gender-affirming care for minors and supported the medical care for youth when administered appropriately.The American Academy of Pediatrics reaffirmed its support for the treatments in August and voted to conduct an external review of research regarding the care.These bills are just some of the 321 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced or debated in 2023 reported by the ACLU, which surpasses the record 315 anti-LGBTQ bills in 2022, according to the Human Rights Campaign.Meanwhile in other states, like Alaska, Illinois, Minnesota, New Mexico and California, legislators have made strides in protecting access to care for transgender people.
For example, in Alaska, gender-affirming care is covered under Medicaid.Newsweek has also reached out to Equality North Carolina for further comment..
