The American Psychological Association (APA) addressed the harmful misinformation perpetuated by these anti-LGBT+ initiatives in a statement released yesterday. The statement emphasizes the critical role that gender-affirming care plays for transgender and non-binary individuals, demonstrating that this care is required and based on reliable, science-based evidence. The association claims that restrictions and bans on gender-affirming care have clear, harmful effects, which pose a threat to LGBTQ+ youth’s emotional well-being and safety, amplifying the risks of negative mental health outcomes.
The email comes as transgender youth health care that is age-appropriate, medically necessary, and life-saving is being introduced and passed by state legislatures across the country. These bans were passed by more than 30 states last month, with 22 states enacting them into laws. Next month, Ohio became the most recent state to enact a ban.
The tragic passing of Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old non-binary scholar of Choctaw heritage in Oklahoma, who was savagely attacked in a classroom, is the subject of APA’s statement. The event coincides with the country’s director of public education, Ryan Walters, who frequently perpetuates a tradition of violent and hateful language aimed at LGBTQ+ inclusion in Oklahoma’s schools. In the days since Nex’s suicide, Walters, who has a history of making inflammatory remarks and discriminatory policies, has doubled down on selling anti-LGBT+ shame.
Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement:
“Attacks on medical care for trans people are terrible, dangerous, and directly refute the scientific, evidence-based recommendations of major medical organizations like the American Psychological Association. The ongoing attacks on LGBTQ+ children and their access to essential, life-saving health care demonstrate how severe this state of emergency has become for the LGBTQ+ community,” according to HRC President Kelley Robinson. The shocking misinformation that anti-LGBT+ politicians spread has “real-life consequences.” Nex Benedict lost their life to the abuse, hostility, and animosity brought on by these falsehoods. We must continue to fight back against these attempts to subvert our fundamental rights in order to ensure the safety of our babies.
TOPLINES: The APA urges congressional action to end restrictions on gender-affirming care and reiterates their ongoing support for LGBTQ+ children:
- The American Psychological Association (APA) steadfastly supports evidence-based clinical care for all children, adolescents, and adults, including gender identity and expression.
- The APA opposes state restrictions on gender-affirming care because they are contrary to the principles of evidence-based medical, human rights, and social justice, and should be reconsidered in favor of policies that promote the well-being and freedom of transgender, gender-diverse, and intersex individuals.
- The APA is opposed to attempts to hinder children, adolescents, and adults from accessing evidence-based interventions and advocates for equitable healthcare coverage without gender-based discrimination.
- The APA emphasizes the value of psychological and medical care from an integrative perspective, which considers the several facets of an individual’s experience and offers services that are anti-discriminatory in all areas, including cultural, ethnic, social, religious, and gender-based discrimination.
- “The APA urges support for policies that promote access to comprehensive, gender-affirming care for children, adolescents, and adults, recognizing the beneficial effects on mental health outcomes.”
The Human Rights Campaign is the largest civil rights organization in the United States dedicated to achieving justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people. HRC envisions a world in which LGBTQ+ individuals are embraced as full members of society at home, at work, and in every community.
