Target: Missouri State Senator Mike Moon (R)
Goal: Protect the rights of transgender youth to receive gender-affirming care.
Transgender youth are under attack across the U.S., with new legislation stripping them of their right to gender-affirming healthcare, and Missouri is the latest battleground. Republicans have been pushing increasingly more homophobic and transphobic laws that aim to restrict the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, especially children and youth. SB834, currently in committee in the Missouri Senate, prohibits gender-affirming care for transgender minors. It is part of the “Missouri Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act.” Introduced by Senator Mike Moon, this bill prohibits medical professionals from providing puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and gender reassignment surgery, and even outlaws referring transgender youth to other healthcare providers for similar care. If passed, this bill will subject transgender youth to significant harm and strip them of their human right to healthcare.
Gender-affirming healthcare is necessary for the well-being of transgender people, and restricting access increases risk of mental health issues, including depression and suicide. According to the Trevor Project, a mental health crisis line and support network for LGBTQ+ youth, “More than 1.8 million LGBTQ youth (13-24) seriously consider suicide each year in the U.S. — and at least one attempts suicide every 45 seconds.” These striking statistics are not inherent to LGBTQ+ identities, but are in fact due to the societal and political discrimination and harm that these individuals face on a daily basis.
It is imperative that we push back against this type of hateful legislation and demand that our representatives protect the rights of transgender youth. Although this specific bill is in Missouri, there are similar laws being voted on every day in other states as part of a growing wave of transphobia. By restricting access to healthcare, the government is infringing on human rights. This overreach is concerning and dangerous, not only for the transgender community, but for the country as a whole.
By signing the petition below, you will be defending transgender youth and advocating for their human right to gender-affirming healthcare.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Senator Moon,
You recently introduced Senate Bill 834, which aims to prohibit gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth. By restricting medical professionals from providing puberty blockers, hormone therapy, gender reassignment surgery, and providing referrals to other healthcare providers, you are depriving transgender youth of their human right to healthcare. This will result in significant harm to the transgender population and subject them to increased risk of depression and suicide.
As a proponent of the “Missouri Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act,” you claim to have the welfare of youth in mind. If you truly care about protecting children and adolescents, then you will reconsider your transphobic, discriminatory bill and focus your efforts on promoting the rights of youth instead of stripping them away.
The rhetoric behind your bill supposes that transgender youth are a danger to the community, but in reality it is politicians like yourself, actively harming children and youth, that are the real danger. Please stop promoting legislation that only serves to harm the people you are supposed to defend.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Sociologists for Trans Justice
805 Signatures