If you thought he wouldn’t go there, you weren’t paying attention. If you thought it was necessary for him to do so, you’re willfully ignorant.
On Jan. 28, Trump announced plans via an executive order, “Protect Children From Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” to restrict and defund care for and research of transgender youth.
But don’t be fooled by the smoke and mirrors of science and “protection of children.” This new executive order is certainly frightening for those it affects directly. But it should be frightening for all of us.
We have science to support trans people’s existence. We don’t need to be protected from them. In fact, protecting trans people (including and especially kids, the most vulnerable) is vital to holding the line against further detrimental regulation of queer – and general – freedom.
Currently, many medical professionals and organizations take gender affirming care advice from the World Professional Association of Transgender Health, or WPATH, a global coalition of doctors, researchers, and activists. In 2022, WPATH updated its standards for the care of transgender individuals, releasing Standards of Care Version 8, or SOC8. The SOC8 includes guidelines for medical procedures and support of trans people of all ages, with specific chapters for children and adolescents.
When it comes to adolescents, SOC8 sets out criteria for the timeline of care for trans teens and provides guidelines for what kinds of medical professionals can perform this care. It recommends extensive vetting and honesty about risks with teens seeking gender affirming care. Don’t believe me? You can check for yourself – page 48 of the full SOC8.
As justification for these guidelines, the SOC8 even states that, though rare, “some adolescents may regret the steps they have taken…Therefore, it is important to present the full range of possible outcomes when assisting transgender adolescents.”
Trump’s executive order calls the WPATH and SOC8 “junk science.” Trump proposes instead that the Department of Health and Human Services publish its own studies.
But there’s a problem here: other major medical institutions, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association, and American Psychological Association, all have conducted their own research and even rely upon WPATH guidelines to say the same thing: trans people, including children, exist and require gender affirming care to be healthy.
The point for today’s conservatives is not science. The point is oppressing transgender people. And why?
It’s really unclear, because trans people are such a small portion of the American populus. Trans adults are somewhere around 0.5% of the U.S. population and trans kids are about 1.6%, according to the UCLA Williams Institute.
And yet, one of the first executive orders Trump issued on his first day in office was the so-called “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.”
“It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female,” Trump’s order reads. “These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.”
Under the new guidelines, Americans’ ability to change their gender marker on certain legal documents, such as passports, has already been paused.
Placing transphobic discrimination behind a facade of “protecting women” mirrors the same practice of “protecting kids.” Trump and his lackeys are doing their best to hide their true moves, but don’t be fooled.
As the Trump Administration claims to be fighting for women and children, they are at the same time allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents into schools, threatening kids who have no role in arbitrary immigration laws, per a policy released on Jan. 20. On Jan. 24, Trump reinforced the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funding of abortion.
Other orders restricting immigration and education funding disproportionately affect women and children, too. Women are often more likely to migrate for their safety, opportunity, and equality. Children who rely upon public schools and are likely to require federal grants for college will suffer from cuts to education.
Meanwhile, moves like seceding from the World Health Organization and Paris Climate Agreement, encouraging fossil fuel production, and removing diversity, equity, and inclusion practices will hurt all Americans.
Trans people are therefore a scapegoat for a world of hurt the Trump Administration is currently implementing and plans on continuing to implement. Ignoring the plight of trans people means allowing us all to fall farther.
The ACLU has stated its intent to continue monitoring Trump’s transphobic regulation regime and to fight back. We should all be with them.
And rest assured: don’t roll over, because this is just the beginning.
