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The following weekly summary is written and compiled by Transformation projecta grassroots organization dedicated to tracking and educating about the anti-trans legislative crisis currently sweeping the United States. You can follow their work and latest updates via Chirp, Instagram, TikTok, Tumblr, and Facebook.

Hello readers. It is Friday, October 25, 2024.

As a reminder, legislative sessions are different for each state – you can track your state’s legislative session here. Currently, the passage of bills has slowed or completely stopped after the conclusion of legislative sessions in most states.

This week: no new bills introduced, no bills moved forward.

Editorial function

The Cass Report, Pt. 3: Effect

In editorial functions previously, we have made a division of Cass report and its impact on gender-affirming care in the UK This week we turn to the US and the scientific community at large and explore the report’s reach beyond England’s borders. The two previous editorials on the Cass report can be found here (part one, part two).

Following the publication of the Cass report, both trans advocates and critics within the scientific community were quick to make their voices heard. On July 1, 2024, just months after the report’s publication, Yale Law School published a paper entitled “An Evidence-Based Critique of the Cass Review.”

According to the authors of the article – who have published a total of 168 peer-reviewed studies on gender-affirming care –the majority of doctors and researchers contributing to the Cass report have “neither research nor clinical experience in transgender health care” (3). The Yale study’s authors further contradict the report’s certified expertise, arguing that the crucial views of gender-affirming health researchers and clinicians were left out: ignored, even, as biased. “Expertise is not considered biased in any other field of science or medicine,” the authors argue, “and it should not be here” (3).

The authors also note the report’s credibility in the US, noting the fact that SCOTUS listed the Cass Review as a “authority” in Poe v. Labrador.

The Yale publication prompted the British Medical Association (BMA) to vote on whether or not to reject the Cass report. The BMA’s UK Council voted to criticize the Cass report and its rapid implementation; after this decision, the organization announced that it would conduct an investigation of the report’s findings.

Proponents of the Cass Review largely ignored the Yale report as biased, argues that the authors have a legislative or legal agenda and are not focused on “objective” science. The Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine authored a scathing review of the Yale report, which highlighted its lack of peer review and links to Privacy project as a means of discrediting its argument.

What these proponents of the Cass report fail to acknowledge is the fact that gender-affirming care is a legal issue—it has been made so, by anti-trans politicians in the US and abroad. Scientific “objectivity” is not possible in cases where one group tries to oppress another. Pretending to be neutral is not addressing trans people’s needs correctly.

In all of these conversations, articles, reviews – both scholarly and legal – one set of voices is notably absent: the voices of our community, transgender and gender non-conforming people. Our perspectives are collected as qualitative evidence, but rarely as expertise. Going forward, it is critical that all researchers and legislators work harder to center trans people in the discussion of trans health care.

If you are not already registered to vote, we encourage you to do so here! While federal elections are important, state and local elections have been just as crucial in the fight for trans rights (if not more so). If you want to know what your state representatives have been up to, check out our Scorecards for Legislators here.

What the hell else happened this week?

• As the election nears, Republicans have doubled down on anti-trans messages in swing states. The campaign ads, which denigrate both transgender people and drag queens, are part of the party’s last-minute appeal to “persuasable” voters. Political strategists report that these mudslinging tactics see higher degree of efficiency with conservative suburban women, along with some black and Hispanic communities. This has led some Democratic candidates to espouse anti-trans rhetoric to maintain their own political power, with an ad from Colin Allred saying he “doesn’t support boys in girls sports.”

  Among voters, these ads are incredibly unpopular. According to a survey conducted by Data for progress80% of voters polled believe that “Both Democrats and Republicans should spend less time talking about transgender issues and more time talking about voters’ priority issues like the economy and inflation.”

• That was it announced on Monday that Chase Strangio will argue before the Supreme Court on December 4, making him the first transgender person to appear before the court. Strangio will appear in the case of US v. Skrmetti.

  The case involves three families and a challenging doctor Tennessee’s SB01a gender-affirming healthcare ban passed in March 2023. Strangio will appear alongside US Attorney General Elizabeth Barchas Prelogar, who is representing the Biden administration in the case.

  Strangio is co-director of Transgender Justice with the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project. He has been with the ACLU since 2013 and has been involved in several legal cases regarding trans rights, but none in the Supreme Court until now. “Chase Strangio is our nation’s leading legal expert on transgender rights, bar none,” said Cecillia Wang, the ACLU’s legal director, in press release on the matter.

Mental Health Resources

We know it can be difficult for our readers to keep up to date with anti-trans legislation. If you or someone you know needs support, here are some affirming resources you can contact:

• If you need support or are in crisis, you can contact the Trans Lifeline hotline at (877) 565-8860.

• Trans Lifeline is run by trans people, for trans people, and does not engage in active rescue without consent, meaning they will not call law enforcement without your consent.

• A Trevor Project crisis counselor can be reached by calling 1 (866) 488-7386, chator text (Text ‘START’ to 678-678).

• Note: This resource may use active rescue without consent, including law enforcement, 911 and first responders.

• You can call the LGBT National Hotline at (888) 843-4564 or connect with a peer via chat.

• The LGBT National Help Center will NOT call other suicide hotlines, law enforcement, 911, or emergency services.

• BlackLine is a BIPOC LGBTQ+ support line, run by BIPOC people, for BIPOC people. This resource does not involve law enforcement or government agencies. You can call 1 (800) 604-5841 to chat with a peer.

• For people under 25, you can call the LGBT National Youth Talkline at (800) 246-7743.

• The LGBT National Help Center will NOT call other suicide hotlines, law enforcement, 911, or emergency services.

• Adults (people 18+) can text THRIVE Lifeline, which is trans-led and operated. Text “TRIVE” to (313) 662-8209 to begin your conversation.

• THRIVE Lifeline does NOT call 911 for people who are at risk of harming themselves without their consent.

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