Trans Formations Project Newsletter ∙ 10/28/22
At time of writing, it is October 28th, 2022. And as such, new bills have begun to be proposed and the midterm elections (November 8th) are very, very fast approaching! Act accordingly.
First, we have an action item out of Ohio. The Ohio Board of Education is meeting on Monday, October 31st at 12:30 pm. During this meeting, they may vote to put an anti-trans resolution back on the voting agenda in November. This would undo the current inclusive bathroom practices in place and would out trans students to their parents. You can leave a comment here, or show up in-person on Monday for the School Board meeting. There will not be an option for public comments at the meeting, but you can still show up and support LGBTQIA+ students.
Second, a reminder that the 2022 US Transgender Survey is live until November 21st. The survey is open to individuals of trans and non-binary identities, ages 16 and older, who live in the United States and U.S. territories. The survey is anonymous, available in English and Spanish, and takes about 60 minutes. Make your story heard and take the survey before November 21st at www.ustranssurvey.org.
With action items out of the way, let’s talk about…
The Thing(s) We Won This Week
Some good news out of West Virginia: Due to a court settlement, a court order is no longer required to update birth certificates for transgender West Virginians AND the strike-through method will no longer be required, which revealed an individual's transgender status. Thank you to the ACLU, ACLU of West Virginia, and the Harvard Law School LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic whose hard work led to this victory for transgender West Virginian’s.
On Wednesday, the American Nursing Association released a statement opposing legislation which restricts and/or criminalizes access to transgender healthcare, stating “The legislative intent and medical claims behind these laws are not grounded in reputable science and conflict with the nurse’s obligation to promote, advocate, and protect the rights, health, and safety of patients.” They join many other major medical associations who state their support for gender-affirming health care.
What the Heck Happened This Week ?!
As we reported last week, the Florida Board of Medicine is meeting today, October 28th to write a “standard of care” which will ban gender affirming care for trans youth and limit access to care for trans adults. We are keeping an eye on updates from the meeting and will share them on social media in real-time, and in our newsletter next week.