National Black Justice Coalition Condemns Texas Supreme Court’s Decision on Gender-Affirming Care Ban
CONTACT: Jordan Wilhelmi | jordan@unbendablemedia.com
TEXAS – Following reports that the Texas Supreme Court allowed a new state law banning gender-affirming care for minors to take effect, Dr. David J. Johns, Ph.D., executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), a leading Black LGBTQ+/SGL (same gender loving) civil rights organization, issued the following statement:
“We are both disappointed and unsurprised by the recent Texas Supreme Court decision allowing a regressive state law, banning gender-affirming care for minors, to take effect, continuing the legislative assault of the Republican Party against the LGBTQ+ community for political gain.
“It is particularly distressing that this law is being codified as trans youth across Texas are beginning a new school year. These young people, who didn’t ask to be born or invited to weigh in on political decisions impacting their lives, should be met with support, understanding, and opportunities to thrive, not subjected to legislation and corresponding actions perpetuating harm and discrimination, adding yet another layer of adversity to their already challenging process of learning and growing.
“This law also jeopardizes doctors’ ability to provide well-established, evidence-based medical care to transgender youth by threatening them with the loss of their medical licenses, which undermines the trust and autonomy of medical professionals who took a hippocratic oath to provide care in ways that do not cause hurt or harm. These actions place an undue burden on doctors to prioritize a discriminatory law over the well-being of their patients in direct violation of the hippocratic oath.
“Transgender children deserve access to medical care that is affirming and provenly safe, and for state law to respect decisions made between the patient, their families, and their medical provider. Attempting to deny them these rights is an affront to their dignity, and a failure to uphold the principles of equality and justice that our society should stand for.
“As an organization committed to advancing the rights and well-being of Black LGBTQ+/same-gender loving individuals, we stand resolutely against this discriminatory law and all similar measures that target transgender youth. We call upon leaders, lawmakers, and advocates to join us in condemning this injustice and working tirelessly to protect the rights and dignity of transgender children across Texas and beyond.”
According to the Trevor Project, a nonprofit focused on suicide prevention efforts among the LGBTQ+ community, nearly 1 in 3 LGBTQ young people said their mental health was poor most of the time or always due to anti-LGBTQ policies and legislation, and nearly 2 in 3 young people said that hearing about potential state or local laws banning people from discussing LGBTQ people at school made their mental health a lot worse.