BROADview in Brief: Doggie-Paddling Across the Pond

The ups and downs of the NHS and beyond

Just before I went to England, the NHS announced the end of using puberty blockers as routine intervention for gender dysphoria. As I was arriving, they announced that, for now, kids could still access cross-sex hormones “around their 16th birthday.” While I was there, a woman named Anna Castle and another mom pursued their claim in court that the NHS treatment of 17-year-olds is fundamentally flawed and should be investigated because of the discrepancy between how children and young adults access cross-gender medicine. The judge paused the case to give both sides time for discovery, which Castle’s team (whom I met in a pub) took as a victory.

Meanwhile, a new article in the BMJ—Transgender care: doctors are advised to return to “ordinary best practice”—noted that “Doctors have been urged to return to ‘ordinary best practice’ involving non-medicalised methods such as counselling when treating children and young people with gender dysphoria.”

In other words: there’s a lot going on over here, and I think it would behoove us to understand it. The UK lead the way with whistleblowers, and we need to pay close attention to how difficult it is for them to create evidence-based, sound services, even after the acknowledgment (well, by some people) of the harms.

Headline summaries from our pal, Alejandra Q:

US

• On Friday, the Idaho Senate approved a measure prohibiting the use of public funds for gender-affirming interventions. The measure had previously passed through the Idaho House, meaning that it will now be sent to Gov. Brad Little's desk. The Gov has previously stated that he does not believe public funds should pay for such interventions, is expected to sign the bill into law. (KTVB)

• New Hampshire House Republicans passed House Bill 1205 on Thursday. The bill, which aims to bar trans-identified male students from female public middle and high school athletic teams, has now been sent to the New Hampshire Senate. (Sentinel Source)

• The Tennessee Senate approved a bill requiring public schools to tell parents when their child identifies as transgender. Under the proposed bill, those schools who fail to disclose such information will be penalized. (Tennessee Conservative News)

• Wyoming’s Gov. Mark Gordon signed a bill banning gender transition for minors last Friday. This adds Wyoming to a list of 24 states with restrictions or bans on pediatric gender affirmation. Wyoming’s bill (SF 0099), known as the “Help Not Harm” Bill, was formerly called “Chloe’s Law.” (DRG News)

• The Community Education Council in Manhattan’s District 2 passed a measure on the 20th of March asking for a public review of New York City Department of Education’s 2019 policy, which allows trans-identified male students to compete in female sports. 

• The Georgia State Senate passed a bill this past Tuesday that bars trans-identified public and private school athletes from participating in female sports.

• On Tuesday, the ACLU of Ohio filed a lawsuit on behalf of two families that challenges the state’s House Bill 68 (known as SAFE Act, for Save Adolescents from Experimentation) which bans both child gender transition and trans-identified males from women’s sports. 

• This week, the city of Sacramento became the first city in California to be designated a “transgender sanctuary city.”

• Jennifer Sey, Levi’s former global brand president, is launching a new athletic clothing brand called XX-XY Athletics which looks to distinguish itself other brands by helping “protect women and girls from being forced to compete and share locker rooms with transgender athletes.”

International

• Noa-Lynn van Leuven, a Dutch trans-identified male darts player, won last weekend's Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) Women’s Series, becoming the first darts player in history to win titles against both men and women within the same week. Van Leuven’s victory received online backlash, including sharp criticism from Doncaster Conservative MP Beau Greaves, who claimed that “men have no place in women’s sports” as a response to van Leuven’s win. Anca Zijlstra and Aileen de Graaf, Dutch professional female darts players, have decided to leave their national team over van Leuven’s participation with Zijlstra writing: "the moment when you feel ashamed to play for the Dutch team because a biological man plays on the women’s team, it's time to go.” Van Leuven responded to the backlash via the Dutch outlet NOS, claiming that “I don't really feel the need to go further into it. This has been their choice and not mine. I think the only unfortunate thing about this issue is that a lot of people forget that I am also a human being.” The PDC also release a statement  addressing the controversy, with a PDC chief executive stating that van Leuven is “more than deserving of her place in the women’s world match play.”

UK

• Murdo Fraser, a veteran Conservative Member of the Scottish Parliament, posted on social media criticizing the Scottish Government’s transgender policy. Fraser has threatened to take legal action against Police Scotland after this post was logged in police files as a “hate incident.” On a related note, The Telegraph writes about a hate crime youth event hosted by Police Scotland where delegates were provided with a hypothetical scenario of a “passionate gender-critical campaigner” called Jo, in a very obvious reference to author JK Rowling.

• The BBC conducted a survey on British female athletes who “compete for their country in senior sport, or at the highest level in their sport at top club level”. Of the 143 responses, 104 of the athletes said they felt “uncomfortable” or “very uncomfortable” about having to compete against trans-identified males, with only 11 of the respondents claiming that they felt “comfortable or very comfortable.” 

• The New Statesman writes about concerns pertaining to the upcoming closing of the GIDS, while The Times UK writes about the recently published updates to Hannah Barnes’ book Time to Think.

Australia 

• For The Australian, Andrew Amos, psychiatry professor at the university of Queensland, publicly criticized the gender-affirming model of care, calling it “incompatible with competent, ethical medical practice.”

• An Australian girls’ soccer team was defeated 10-0 in the grand final of the Beryl Ackroyd Cup tournament. The winning team was reported to have featured five trans-identified male players.

• Some of the approximately 100 attendees to Melbourne’s #WomenWillSpeak rally clashed with protesters this Saturday outside of state parliament. The Daily Mail reports that two of the protesters were tackled to the ground by Victoria police. A Victoria police spokesperson stated: “We have a long history of supporting peaceful protest but will not tolerate disgraceful and unlawful behavior.”

HEADLINES
General US

Mar 23: Budget includes millions to help teens take steps to swap gender “Buried in the newly passed $1.2 trillion federal spending package are millions of dollars for woke causes, including groups that host drag shows and provide teens seeking to change their sex with gender-affirming hormones and underwear. Conservatives flagged a bevy of earmarks for pet congressional causes in the 1,012-page minibus that cleared the Senate on Saturday, such as $400,000 for Garden State Equality in New Jersey, which promotes ‘FREE gender-affirming garments.’” (Washington Times)

Mar 24: MacKenzie Scott, Jeff Bezos' ex-wife, funnels most of $640 million in donations to left-wing causes: transgender athletes, migrants “Scott sent $72 million to 43 orgs advocating for ‘gender identity,’ ‘sexual orientation,’ and other LGBTQ causes. Included is a nonprofit helping to enable biological boys who identify as transgender individuals to participate in female sports.” (The Blaze)

Mar 24: Rachel Levine of HHS: Transgender Medicine Should Be Available in Every U.S. State “Highest ranking transgender official says laws get between patients and evidence-based healthcare (In part three of this exclusive video interview, MedPage Today editor-in-chief Jeremy Faust, MD, talks with Admiral Rachel Levine, MD, the assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), about her experience as the highest ranking U.S. transgender official and why youth transgender medicine is so important.” (MedPage Today)

Alabama
Mar 25: Lawyers representing transgender plaintiffs face possible sanctions for alleged 'judge shopping. (ABA Journal)

Alaska
Mar 24: Planet Fitness assigns staffer to assist transgender client in women's locker room: ‘If you are uncomfortable, you can use a stall’ “Patricia Silva was banned from an Alaska Planet Fitness after posting about a trans woman shaving in the female locker room. She said the person now has a staff escort to use the facilities and the gym has told  critics to back off. Backlash against the gym caused the company's valuation to plummet $400 million in five days.” (Daily Mail)  

California
Mar 27: Sacramento is now a sanctuary city for transgender people (Sandhill Express)

Mar 26: A heated custody battle over a transgender child in California stokes a viral debate: “Watch L.A. Times Today at 7 p.m. on Spectrum News 1 on Channel 1 or live stream on the Spectrum News App. Palos Verdes Peninsula and Orange County viewers can watch on Cox Systems on channel 99.” (LA Times )

Mar 26: Biological men are now welcome in California women's prisons: ‘An agenda for female erasure’: “California law allows male inmates to declare themselves transgender and be housed in women's prisons” (Fox News)

Georgia
Mar 26: New bill in Georgia senate seeks to ban transgender girls from girls' high schools sports (WFXG)

Idaho
Mar 22: Using public funds or facilities for gender-affirming care banned by Idaho Legislature The Senate overwhelmingly approved the measure Friday after it previously passed through the House. It will be sent to Idaho Gov. Brad Little's desk. (KTVB)

Minnesota
Mar 26: Minnesota Republicans call for religious exemption in hiring transgender employees “Minnesota GOP and faith leaders are asking for religious exemption, saying churches and faith-based schools could be sued for refusing to hire transgender employees.” (KARE11)

Mar 25: Minn. State Rep. Pushes For Tax-Funded 'Refuge' To Castrate Trans Kids (MRCTV)

New Jersey
Mar 26: Roxbury School Board Moves to Rescind Transgender Policy, NJ “Adopted in 2019 to comply with state Department of Education (DOE) guidelines, the policy gave students the power to determine whether they are male or female and stated the district “shall accept a student’s asserted gender identity; parental consent is not required.” (TapInto)

New York
Mar 25: Students Rise Up Against School's Transgender Bathroom Policy, Walk Out of Class in Protest: Report Students at a New York state high school walked out of class last week to protest the transgender bathroom policy at their high school. The protest took place Monday at John Jay High School, which is part of the Wappingers Central School District. The school’s policy is that students can use any bathroom they choose that suits their preferred version of their gender identity, according to Spectrum News.) (Western Journal)

Mar 23: Manhattan School Board Seeks Public Review of Transgender Sports Policy (NTD)

Mar 25: Manhattan parent board’s anti-trans vote complicates debate over mayoral control of public schools Progressives want to give greater control of public schools to parents – just not these parents. “David Bloomfield, an education policy professor at Brooklyn College, called the resolution ‘a legally meaningless, hateful, and discriminatory action that subjects gender nonconforming students and adults to increased risks of bullying, violence, and suicide.’” (City and State NY)

Mar 24: Nassau County executive Bruce Blakeman swamped with support for trans athlete ban (NY Post)

Mar 25: NYC parents rage over resolution seeking to ban transgender athletes from girls’ sports Chase Strangio, a District 2 parent and lawyer at the American Civil Liberties Union, was “heartbroken” upon learning about the resolution. “I was heartbroken when I learned as a District 2 parent about Resolution 248,” Strangio said. “As a trans person myself, as a parent and as a civil rights lawyer, I have seen and confronted the consequences and political impact of predatory actions like what Resolution 248 represents.” (AMNY)

Ohio
Mar 27: Lawsuit filed by families against Ohio trans care ban legislation House Bill 68 bans gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth. “The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Ohio, and the law firm Goodwin filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging House Bill 68, legislation in Ohio that bans gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors, and also bans transgender girls from taking part in girls' and women's sports.” (ABC News)

Pennsylvania
Mar 25: Transgender teen pleads guilty to killing 12-year-old girl, then showing body on Instagram A transgender teenager from Pennsylvania has admitted to killing her 12-year-old friend while they were watching Netflix and then posting photos of the child’s body on Instagram. Ash Cooper, 18, who was originally charged as Joshua Cooper, pleaded guilty on Thursday to charges including third-degree murder, possession of an instrument of crime and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence in the death of Morgan Connors. Fox News reported. (NY Post)

Tennessee
Mar 23: Tennessee Senate OKs bill to penalize schools if parents aren’t told students say they’re transgender (Times Free Press)

Mar 26: Tennessee lawmakers prefer to target transgender citizens than solve real-world problems “There are many issues I want lawmakers to prioritize and make better about life in Tennessee that have nothing to do with my gender identity.”

Texas
Mar 25: Paxton Blocked in Texas from Investigating Transgender Group—Judge issued temporary injunction and set June trial. PFLAG says probe has caused fear in members. “ A Texas judge on Monday continued to block an investigation from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) into a nonprofit’s work helping families with transgender children.” (Bloomberg Law)

Utah
Mar 24: Transgender Man Alex Franco Found Dead in Utah Desert, Two Teens Arrested (Star Observer)

Washington
Mar 25: Christian foster parents sue Washington over rules requiring transgender names, pronouns (Washington Times)

Wisconsin
Mar 25: Transgender middle schooler files federal lawsuit against Elkhorn School District “Student has been denied access to girls' restrooms for 2 years (The 31-page complaint, filed March 21 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, alleges the Elkhorn Area School District violated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.” (WPR)

·