One Goes Down In Flames

Down in Florida the anti-trans bill that made medical treatments to trans children illegal got tabled.

Controversial transgender bill gets hearing, but no vote in subcommittee
Critics of the bill say decisions about medical care for their children should be left up to parents. 
Florida Politics
BySarah Muelleron
February 3, 2020

Rep. Anthony Sabatini‘s bill (HB 1365) relating to medical care for transgender children appears all but dead for this session, despite Monday’s workshop on the issue.

This is the final week for subcommittee hearings, which means Monday is the final meeting for the House Health Quality Subcommittee. Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, who fiercely opposes the bill, said pressure from him and a bipartisan group of other lawmakers, turned consideration of the legislation from a vote to a workshop.

Sabatini, a Howey-in-the-Hills Republican, is proposing making gender assignment surgeries for minors a felony. Doctors who perform the procedures would face up to 15 years in prison under his bill.

The representative has no idea what they are talking about, I doubt very much that they read the actual research study paper.

We have to be en garde for other attacks in the 9 or so states that are trying to ban healthcare for trans youth.

Last summer Scientific America had this blog post,

Stop Using Phony Science to Justify Transphobia
Actual research shows that sex is anything but binary
By Simón(e) D Sun
June 13, 2019

Antiscientific sentiment bombards our politics, or so says the Intellectual Dark Web (IDW). Chief among these antiscientific sentiments, the IDW cites the rising visibility of transgender civil rights demands. To the IDW, trans people and their advocates are destroying the pillars of our society with such free-speech–suppressing, postmodern concepts as: “trans women are women,” “gender-neutral pronouns,” or “there are more than two genders.” Asserting “basic biology” will not be ignored, the IDW proclaims. “Facts don’t care about your feelings.”

The irony in all this is that these “protectors of enlightenment” are guilty of the very behavior this phrase derides. Though often dismissed as just a fringe internet movement, they espouse unscientific claims that have infected our politics and culture. Especially alarming is that these “intellectual” assertions are used by nonscientists to claim a scientific basis for the dehumanization of trans people. The real world consequences are stacking up: the trans military ban, bathroom bills, and removal of workplace and medical discrimination protections, a 41-51 percent suicide attempt rate and targeted fatal violence . It’s not just internet trolling anymore.

Contrary to popular belief, scientific research helps us better understand the unique and real transgender experience. Specifically, through three subjects: (1) genetics, (2) neurobiology and (3) endocrinology. So, hold onto your parts, whatever they may be. It’s time for “the talk.”

The author goes on to explain the three aspects of gender and ends with…

While this is a small overview, the science is clear and conclusive: sex is not binary, transgender people are real. It is time that we acknowledge this. Defining a person’s sex identity using decontextualized “facts” is unscientific and dehumanizing. The trans experience provides essential insights into the science of sex and scientifically demonstrates that uncommon and atypical phenomena are vital for a successful living system. Even the scientific endeavor itself is quantifiably better when it is more inclusive and diverse. So, no matter what a pundit, politician or internet troll may say, trans people are an indispensable part of our living reality.

Transgender humans represent the complexity and diversity that are fundamental features of life, evolution and nature itself. That is a fact.

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In addition research has shown that treating trans patients at a young age saves lives.

Puberty blockers linked to lower suicide risk for transgender people
The finding suggests that a major — and politically controversial — aspect of trans health care for minors could help reduce the community’s disproportionate suicide risk.
NBC News
By Tim Fitzsimons
January 24, 2020

Transgender individuals who received puberty blockers during adolescence have a lower risk of suicidal thoughts as adults than those who wanted the medication but could not access them, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Pediatrics.

“These results align with past literature, suggesting that pubertal suppression for transgender adolescents who want this treatment is associated with favorable mental health outcomes,” the study states.

The finding suggests that a major — and politically controversial — aspect of transgender health care for minors could help reduce the trans community’s disproportionate risk of suicide.
[…]
The study’s lead author, Dr. Jack Turban, a resident psychiatrist at the Harvard Medical School, said the findings add to the “growing evidence base suggesting that gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth is associated with superior mental health outcomes in adulthood.”

But the Republicans don’t want to hear that. Facts just get in the way of their hate.