Fighting for trans rights

New laws across country limit health care transgender people receive

by Avery Anderson news editor

Across the United States, a multitude of anti-trans laws are being put into place with the prospect of many more being introduced and passed throughout the course of the year. These laws, a majority of which are focused on health care, aim to limit the amount of treatment transgender people can receive.

The Missouri attorney general passed an emergency ruling that goes into effect April 27 and lasts for a year. This ruling makes it more difficult for transgender people to receive hormone therapy and surgery and impacts all members of the trans community, not just minors. The reason behind the ruling is because gender transition interventions are experimental and may have unknown or significant side effects; they have been prohibited by state laws.

“It’s dangerous for trans people to not have access to these procedures,” sophomore Amelia Goldwasser said. “It can be downright dangerous to their physical and mental health.”

Goldwasser publicly came out as transgender last year after be- ing threatened to be outed. Being outed is when an individual who identifies as queer has their identity shared against their will by someone else. This can be over social media or in person to friends or family. Goldwasser has been on estrogen for seven months and hormone blockers for a month.

“The funny thing is that cis[gender] people are also affected by these laws,” Goldwasser said. “Some of the medication being withheld has to do with the effects of puberty, which can be used to treat cis people experiencing it too early or with unusual symptoms.”

Though these laws are becoming nationally widespread, the effects are undoubtedly being felt at Ladue and in its classrooms. Though not officially put into place, teachers at Ladue have been advised not to ask students pronouns, whereas before, it was a first day of school formality.

“Ladue’s a liberal area,” senior Alex Schepker said. “So it’s crazy to think that we’re being affected by this.”

Schepker explained discrimination within the queer community as a whole has risen. He talked about a recent issue where a gay couple was denied by a baker to have a cake topper of them creat-