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120 anti-trans bills have already been filed across the United States before 2025 has even started

After a record-breaking year for anti-trans legislation, 2025 is shaping up to be even more challenging for transgender and queer people across the United States. A legislative tracker maintained by Erin In The Morning and other volunteers has found that nearly 120 anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ bills have already been filed in states nationwide ahead of the 2025 legislative season. This far surpasses the 80 bills filed by this time in 2023, signaling another historic wave of legal attacks on the ability of transgender people to move, live, and exist freely as themselves in public. The bulk of the bills so far come from Texas […]

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Bans on transgender care for minors may complicate eating disorder treatment

Restrictions on gender-affirming care proposed by Republicans in Congress and President-elect Donald Trump could be devastating for transgender youths, doctors say, especially for teens with eating disorders. Gender-affirming care — which includes mental health counseling and sometimes puberty-suppressing medication and hormone therapy — is a critical part of care for trans teens with eating disorders, said Jessie Menzel, a psychologist and vice president of development at Equip Health, which provides virtual mental health care for people with eating disorders. Eating disorders are pervasive among young people who identify as trans. Many starve themselves or develop other harmful eating behaviors to make their bodies conform to a masculine or […]

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As HHS secretary, RFK Jr. would be a direct threat to LGBTQ+ health

Among Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees, it’s hard to choose who is the most dangerous to LGBTQ+ rights. But it’s easy to pick out who is the most dangerous to LGBTQ+ health: Robert Kennedy Jr. As the nominee to run the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Kennedy has the potential to make literal life-and-death decisions about the nation’s health. But his crackpot ideas are a direct threat to the very issues that can matter most to the LGBTQ+ community.  Much has been made of Kennedy’s conspiracy-ridden, fringe beliefs. He believes that vaccines cause autism, even though abundant evidence has shown no […]

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Trans inmates are being forced to cut their hair short & undergo breast exam’s in Florida

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The ACLU of Florida is suing the state’s Department of Corrections over a new anti-transgender policy that will restrict trans prisoners’ access to gender-affirming medical care as well as their ability to express their gender identity. According to a report from The Marshall Project and the Tampa Bay Times, a federal judge in Tallahassee held a preliminary hearing in the case on December 9. The ACLU of Florida has asked the judge to block enforcement of the policy, calling it an unconstitutional ban on gender-affirming care. A ruling is expected in the weeks ahead. Under the new policy, Florida prisons will […]

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These Are the Groups Fighting Access to Health Care for Trans Youth

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments yesterday in the case of U.S. v. Skrmetti, a significant case that may profoundly affect the accessibility of health care for transgender youth and their families across the country, as well as the autonomy of health care providers to deliver such care. The plaintiffs, families of transgender youth and a medical provider, are challenging Tennessee’s law banning health care such as hormone therapy and puberty-pausing medications for transgender youth under 18, even when that treatment is medically warranted and sanctioned by their parents. The same treatments are not banned for cisgender (non-transgender) youth.  Following oral arguments, […]

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Defense bill banning trans care for minors could put some families in ‘survival mode’

The House passed a massive defense spending bill Wednesday with a provision that bars the military’s health care program from covering transition-related care for minors. If it passes, some families said it would be devastating and could force them out of the military. The National Defense Authorization Act, a must-pass $895 billion bill, sets Pentagon and defense policies for the next year. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., pushed to add the new provision regarding trans care, which states that “affirming hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and other medical interventions for the treatment of gender dysphoria that could result in sterilization may not be provided to […]

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Montana Supreme Court allows transgender care for minors to continue

The Montana Supreme Court on Wednesday affirmed a lower court ruling that temporarily blocked a state law prohibiting transition-related health care for minors.  The suit, which was filed by two transgender teens and their families, as well as two providers of transition-related care, will now go to trial before Missoula County District Court Judge Jason Marks, who initially blocked the law in September 2023.  The American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal, an LGBTQ legal advocacy group, which are representing the teens and providers, said the decision was a victory for the state’s trans youths.  “Fortunately, the Montana Supreme Court […]

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This trans woman was forced into electroshock therapy. She just won a settlement.

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A 28-year-old trans woman in China has won her lawsuit against the hospital and doctor that subjected her to three months of traumatic and painful electroshock conversion therapy treatments, the Guardian reports. The woman, a performance artist who goes by the name Ling’er, said she hoped the victory would help others in the LGBTQ+ community protect their rights.  “In China, the situation for transgender people is not very optimistic,” she said. “There’s a lack of protection for this group.” Ling’er asserted in her suit that the enforced conversion therapy treatments had violated her personal rights. Her victory came with a small award […]

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Experts detail what LGBTQ+ healthcare may look like under Donald Trump’s new administration

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With President-elect Donald Trump just under two months away from taking office and a slew of troubling cabinet appointments making headlines — including anti-vax crank Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Health & Human Services (HHS) Secretary — LGBTQ+ Americans are understandably concerned about what a second Trump administration will mean for our rights and healthcare. In a recent interview with the Washington Blade, Human Rights Campaign (HRC) director of HIV and health equity Torrian Baskerville acknowledged the fears many LGBTQ+ people, particularly those who are Black, trans, and/or living with HIV, are experiencing around healthcare in light of both Trump’s rhetoric […]

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Ohio governor signs bill restricting trans students’ school bathroom use

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill Wednesday banning transgender students from using school restrooms that align with their gender identities. The Republican-majority state Senate pushed forward SB 104, also known as the “Protect All Students Act,” in a 24-7 party-line vote. “No school shall permit a member of the female biological sex to use a student restroom, locker room, changing room, or shower room that has been designated by the school for the exclusive use of the male biological sex,” and vice versa, the bill reads. The bill defines “biological sex” as the “biological indication of male and female, including […]

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