New York Becomes a “Safe Haven” for Trans Health Care
Law prohibits state entities and courts from cooperating with other states' attempts to criminalize gender-affirming care.
New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul has signed a bill making the state a “safe haven” where transgender people, including minors, will be able to access gender-affirming medical care — pushing back against attempts to restrict such access in almost two dozen other states.
Hochul signed the bill on Sunday, ahead of the annual New York City Pride March, along with a host of other pro-LGBTQ measures. Among those other measures are a law protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination when seeking treatment or rehabilitation services for addiction and substance use disorder, a bill to modernize the definition of what constitutes sexual orientation, and two others adding gender-neutral terminology to state laws and rules and state agency websites, reports NBC News.
The “safe haven” law bars courts from enforcing out-of-state laws that authorize taking children out of custody of parents who affirm their gender identity or allow them to access gender-affirming care such as puberty blockers or hormone therapy. It also prevents courts from finding such parents guilty of “abuse” for permitting their children, with their consent and the guidance of a physician, to access such care.
The measure also bars law enforcement agencies from cooperating with out-of-state agencies seeking to prosecute people for seeking out gender-affirming treatments that would otherwise be legal in New York, and bars courts and county clerks from issuing subpoenas in connection with out-of-state investigations for treatments that would be considered legal in New York State.
“As the birthplace of the modern movement for LGBTQ+ rights, New York is proud to protect, defend and affirm our LGBTQ+ community, Hochul said in a statement. “Now, as other states target LGBTQ+ people with bigotry and fear-mongering, New York is fighting back. These new laws will enshrine our state as a beacon of hope, a safe haven for trans youth and their families, and ensure we continue to lead the nation on LGBTQ+ rights.”
“The Trans Safe Haven bill is a necessary response to the efforts of other states across the country to curtail the healthcare rights of transgender, gender-nonconforming, nonbinary, and intersex individuals,” Assembly Member Harry Bronson (D-Rochester) said in a statement. “The Trans Safe Haven Law is a clear and unwavering statement that we will not be complicit in other states’ attempts to punish the provision of, receipt of, or support for gender-affirming care. New York State will not participate in hate. We will, instead, support and protect people to live as their authentic selves.”
New York joins 11 other states and Washington, D.C. in passing “safe haven” or “shield” laws that protect the ability of minors to access gender-affirming care.
At the same time, 20 states have passed restrictions on such care, with Texas going so far as to direct state child welfare agencies to investigate parents of transgender-identifying youth who are believed to have allowed their children to access gender-affirming care — even if such allegations are not based in fact.
Supporters of such laws argue that puberty blockers and hormone therapy are experimental, irreversible, and harmful to trans-identifying youths’ health in the long-term. They also contend that minors are too young to consent to treatments, even with their parents’ permission, and may grow to regret their choice if they ever overcome their feelings of gender dysphoria.
However, most major medical and mental health organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychological Association and the American Medical Association, have opposed state laws limiting what sorts of treatments minor patients may access, on the grounds that each patient is a distinctly separate case. Additionally, they adhere to the current scientific consensus finding that hormone therapy and puberty blockers, as well as affirming mental health services, are the best practice treatments prescribed for those suffering from gender dysphoria.
Despite the increase in state-level legislation over the past two years seeking to block access to gender-affirming care, states that have imposed such bans have encountered legal difficulties. Last week, a federal judge struck down an Arkansas ban on gender-affirming care as unconstitutional, finding it violated transgender minors’ right to equal protection and chilled the free speech rights of doctors treating them by prohibiting them from prescribing what they feel are the best treatments for transgender individuals.
Similar laws in Alabama, Florida, Indiana, and Oklahoma have been blocked from being enforced. Florida was also recently dealt a defeat over a rule that state health officials adopted seeking to prohibit Medicaid dollars from being used to cover the cost of gender-affirming treatments for adults who are transitioning.
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