BROADview in Brief

Huh, turns out the split is not so left/right after all

Photo by Rapha Wilde on Unsplash

News flash! Not all Democrats want the theory of gender identity taught in schools, says The New York Times. “Fewer than half of the Democrats polled supported teaching about gender identity in elementary school, or using a transgender student’s pronouns at that age without asking the parents. About a third of Democrats supported assigning a book about a nonbinary author’s personal experiences to elementary school students,” they wrote. More left-leaning people support it in high school, though. Bottom line: “…the American public may hold more complex views on the issues.”

I realize that our expectations have to be very low to feel uplifted by this reporting; it’s the most basic tidbit of information we’ve been trying to communicate. But let’s acknowledge that this is progress, no matter how little and how late in the game. So many people want to make this issue simple. If you disagree with them, or think someone they don’t like is making a point worth considering, they’ll waste a lot of time and energy trying to take you down. That is, within each party there are vehement disagreements and bad actors and people who abhor nuance. But most of us are feeling our way through middle ground.

But even as the liberal media admits some liberals are still liberals, and not fundamentalist lefties, Illinois introduced House Bill 4876, amending the state’s Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act—parents who would deny an abortion or adolescent medical gender transition to their children would be considered child abusers, and could even face prison time. (This is a dirty trick on both sides, to tie abortion to medical sex trait transition.) Let me remind everyone that nowhere in any research does it say that familial disagreement over adolescent “sex” change should result in family abolition. Nowhere. Nowhere. Nowhere.

More headlines and summaries from the gender world this week, compiled by Alejandra Q:

• In an emergency request made public on Monday, Idaho officials asked the Supreme Court to let the state enforce a ban on pediatric gender affirmation. Republican Gov. Brad Little signed a law last year which makes it a felony for doctors to provide puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and “gender affirming” surgeries to trans-identified minors. The law also authorizes up to $5,000 in fines for those health care providers who grant access to these interventions. 

• The ACLU of Virginia sued the state’s Department of Education over Gov. Youngkin’s revised transgender policies protecting parental rights. The Department is facing separate lawsuits on behalf of two transgender students in different Virgina counties. 

• The Collegiate Charter School, a Massachusetts High School, had its girls’ basketball team forfeit a game after trans-identified athlete who is more than 6 feet tall allegedly injured 3 Girls. The game, which ended halftime, took place against Kipp Academy. Collegiate’s Athletic Director Kyle Pelczar, however, claimed that Kipp’s trans-identified athlete was not the reason the game was forfeited. Video on X

• Attorneys for Mary and Jeremy Cox, a Catholic couple from Indiana, have requested the SCOTUS to take the couple’s case. The Coxes are parents to a trans-identified minor who was taken from their home following accusations that the couple failed to use their child’s preferred pronouns and new name. Attorneys with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty are representing the couple.

• Maryland lawmakers pushed for a new bill that would protect healthcare workers who provide abortion and gender affirming interventions. The bill would prevent other states from challenging medical licenses, taking legal action against medical providers or require providers to hand over medical records.

In New Jersey, the Westwood school board decided to revise its gender policy:

Tensions flared again at Thursday's Westwood Regional school board meeting, as a new board majority moved to undo two changes adopted by a "parental rights" slate last year.

The Board of Education voted to reinstate a rule on how to treat transgender children that last year's majority dropped. And it also moved to scrap a parental notification policy adopted last year.

Both measures advanced by a 5-3 vote but must still survive a final vote and a public comment session at next month's meeting before they become official.

Woman sues Paulding schools, alleges she was fired from bus driving because she is transgender—In a lawsuit filed Friday, Bobbi Shaffer claims the district fired her and a public school employees union declined to defend her because she is transgender. (WTOL)

Wyoming House Says UW Can Keep $100K Despite Teaching Transgender Treatments—The Wyoming House of Representatives changed course Wednesday and voted against using the budget to strip $100,000 from the University of Wyoming for teaching gender-transition treatments to medical students. (Cowboy State Daily)

Group that sued over transgender policy gets $20,000 settlement from Iowa school district: “An Iowa school board has reached an agreement resolving a lawsuit over a now-rescinded district policy that allowed students to request a gender support plan to begin socially transitioning at school without requiring the permission of their parents. Linn-Mar Community Schools' insurance company will pay the plaintiffs, Parents Defending Education, $20,000, the Gazette newspaper in Cedar Rapids reported. The district announced the agreement Tuesday.” (Des Moines Register)

Bill banning gender-affirming care for minors moves forward “A proposed ban on gender-transition hormones and surgeries for transgender youths advanced Wednesday after a panel of state senators gave the bill its first round of approval in the Senate. The measure passed 4-3 along party lines after several hearings in recent days. Senators heard competing testimonies from supporters, who say the proposal will protect children, and opponents, who say it will only harm the mental health of transgender youths.” (Charleston City Paper)

One-third of trans people taking testosterone may still ovulate, raising chance of pregnancy “In a small study of transgender men and gender-diverse people who take testosterone, scientists found that one-third of the participants still ovulate and could therefore potentially become pregnant.” (LiveScience)

Utah Gov. Cox calls gender-affirming care ‘genital-mutilation surgery’ during ‘Disagree Better’ event “Gov. Spencer Cox’s comments came in response to a student’s question during a George Washington University event promoting his efforts to encourage civil discussion.” (St. Louis Tribune)

Anti-Trans Policies Draw Scrutiny After 16-Year-Old’s Death in Oklahoma “The student, who did not identify as male or female, according to their family, died a day after an altercation in a school bathroom. The police said the death was not a result of trauma.” BUT: The Daily Mail reported that Nex Benedict “did NOT die from injuries sustained in school fight, cops say.”

Supreme Court calls for ACLU response to Idaho’s child transgender surgeries ban “The Supreme Court on Wednesday requested the American Civil Liberties Union to respond to Idaho's emergency motion seeking to enforce the state's ban against providing transgender drugs and surgeries to minors.” (Gazette)

What else happened this week? Please tell us the stories that caught your eye, moved you, infuriated you, filled you with hope, etc…