Front Burner

Anti-trans bills sweep the U.S.

A look at the conservative forces behind a spate of bills targeting transgender people in the United States.
A person holds a sign reading "Human rights are not up for debate" during a protest against House File 2416, a bill signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds which immediately prohibited transgender women and girls from competing in female sports offered by Iowa schools, colleges and universities, Friday, March 11, 2022, on the Pentacrest in Iowa City, Iowa. (Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen/The Associated Press)

Earlier this month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered child protective services to investigate parents of transgender youth seeking gender-affirming care. Even going so far as to say that this care should be categorized as "child abuse." Abbot's directive, although not actually law, was an alarming consequence of a rise of anti-trans bills being proposed at the state level across the U.S. In Alabama, lawmakers have introduced a bill that would make it a felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, for a doctor to provide gender-affirming care to minors.

Today on Front Burner, press secretary for the National Women's Law Center Gillian Branstetter gets into the importance of gender-affirming care, and the impact of blocking trans youth from safely accessing it. We also explore the forces behind this Republican-led movement, and the kind of effort an opposition needs to mount to counter it. 

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