West Virginia medical professionals condemn bill that would prohibit care for at-risk trans youths
Nearly 400 medical professionals in West Virginia have signed onto a letter condemning a bill that would bar at-risk transgender youth from accessing medical interventions like hormone therapy.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Nearly 400 medical professionals in West Virginia have signed onto a letter condemning a bill advancing in the state House of Delegates that would bar transgender youth at risk for suicide from accessing medical interventions like hormone therapy.
Advanced to the full chamber by a House committee on Friday, the proposal would completely ban minors’ access to hormone therapy and puberty blockers, removing a narrow exemption passed by lawmakers last year that allows kids at risk for self-harm and suicide to receive care.
Signers of the letter published Monday by the state’s only LGBTQ advocacy organization, Fairness West Virginia, include doctors, psychologists, social workers, nurses and medical students.
Fairness West Virginia Communications Director Jack Jarvis said the organization planned to present the letter to delegates at the state Capitol in Charleston on Tuesday, the day before the bill is scheduled to be up for a vote.
The swell of support the letter has received from medical professionals in the 72 hours since the bill was approved by the House Health and Human Resources Committee is telling, he said.
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