Anti-Trans Medical Ban Sign-on Letter and Statement
INTRODUCTION

This open letter will be used as a tool to be tailored to specific states when needed. If you sign on to this, you also agree to sign on to state-specific letters that you reside and provide care in. Your affiliation is for identification purposes only and will not be listed in the letter. The purpose of this tool is for health care providers to be able to use their strong voice whenever an anti-trans medical ban is being introduced and debated. We will notify you when we generate the state-specific letter and will give you more opportunities to share with other colleagues who are interested in signing on. State-specific letters may remain open letters or may be sent and addressed to policymakers depending on local organizations and communities’ strategic needs. Signing on to this broader letter will also be ongoing and you are welcome to invite others broadly.
 
Criteria

We invite anyone who is providing health care services, including mental and behavioral health services, to sign this letter. We also invite health care students and trainees, including residents, who are providing care to sign as well. We ask you to share your profession, credentials/degrees and the state in which you practice/reside. We will alert you when the letter is generated. Signatures will be collected on an ongoing basis and you are welcome to share this with other providers and health care students, especially in these targeted states: https://freedomforallamericans.org/legislative-tracker/medical-care-bans/.
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Draft National Letter
On behalf of XX undersigned medical, mental, and behavioral health providers, we issue the following open letter in opposition to over 38 anti-trans bills that would ban medically necessary, life-saving, gender-affirming care for transgender youth that are being proposed in 20 states (1,2). This is irresponsible policymaking that directly harms trans youth and their families across this nation. In fact, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, these anti-trans medical bills will not only negatively impact the health and well-being of trans youth but also allow government officials unwarranted interference in health care decisions that should be made with trans youth, their families, and their health care providers. In addition, the American Psychiatric Association, American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Physicians, American College of Obstetrics & Gynecology, and the American Osteopathic Association published a joint statement opposing such bills that criminalize patient care (3). Numerous health professional associations, including the American Medical Association, the Endocrine Society, the Pediatric Endocrine Society, GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Equality, and [list in formation], have also adopted policy and/or made statements in strong opposition to these legislative efforts (4, 5). We know that bills like these will negatively impact the health care system’s ability to provide high-quality care and will discourage talented health care providers from staying and providing health care within their states.

Such bills dictate and disrupt the confidential relationships we have with our patients and their family members, and deepens the mistrust the broader community has for health care in general. According to the US Trans Survey, 1 in 5 trans people refuses to seek health care services due to fear of being mistreated (6). We also know that these bills have a negative impact on trans people, including trans youth especially as suicide rates continue to increase and trust in the medical system continues to decline.  We know that gender-affirming care reduces the risk of suicide, especially for many trans children. In fact, one study from the journal “Pediatrics” found that the risk of suicide reduces by 70% for trans youth who receive gender-affirming therapies (7). In addition, there is evidence that suggests anti-LGBT bills that disrupt services increase both skepticism for health care services and reluctance to seek care (8). According to the Trevor Project, one in three trans and non-binary youth expressed not seeking mental health services due to fear of discrimination (9). To have legislators irresponsibly implement such bans will only exacerbate these numbers and impede us from doing what we are trained to do; ensuring that patients, especially the youth, lead healthier lives.

We believe that we have a duty to provide the best quality of care to the communities we work with--these bills will only impede on our duties. Anti-trans medical ban bills are unwarranted and will have a direct harmful impact on our communities, both patients and health care professionals. We, therefore, urge that legislators do what’s best for their constituents, oppose these bills so that health care providers can continue to provide medically necessary and evidence-based care that will save the lives of trans youth.

If you have any questions, please feel free to please contact Hector Vargas of GLMA at hvargas@glma.org or D. Ojeda of NCTE at dojeda@transequality.org.

Sincerely,

[List in Formation]

1,2. Freedom for All Americans. (2021). Legislative Tracker: Anti-Transgender Medical Care Bans. Freedom for All Americans. https://freedomforallamericans.org/legislative-tracker/medical-care-bans/ 
3. American Psychiatric Association. (2021). Frontline Physicians Oppose Legislation That Interferes in or Criminalizes Patient Care. American Psychiatric Association.
4. Endocrine Society. (2020). Transgender Health: An Endocrine Society Position Statement. https://www.endocrine.org/advocacy/position-statements/transgender-health
5. Walch, A., Davidge-Pitts, C., Safer, J. D., Lopez, X., Tangpricha, V., Iwamoto, S. J. (2021). Proper Care of Transgender and Gender Diverse Persons in the Setting of Proposed Discrimination: A Policy Perspective. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33326028/
6. James, S. E., Herman, J. L., Rankin, S., Keisling, M., Mottet, L., & Anafi, M. (2016). Executive Summary of the Report of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey. Washington, DC: National Center for Transgender Equality.
7. Turban, J. L., King, D., Carswell, J. M., & Keuroghlian, A. S. (2020). Pubertal suppression for transgender youth and risk of suicidal ideation. Pediatrics, 145(2).
8.  Grzanka, P. R., Spengler, E. S., Miles, J. R., Frantell, K. A., & DeVore, E. N. (2020). “Sincerely Held Principles” or Prejudice? The Tennessee Counseling Discrimination Law. The Counseling Psychologist, 48(2), 223-248.
9. Green, A.E., Price-Feeney, M. & Dorison, S. (2020). Breaking Barriers to Quality Mental Health Care for LGBTQ Youth. New York, New York: The Trevor Project.

Read the state-specific version of this letter here: http://glma.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=document.viewdocument&ID=CEB9FEE4B8DD8B7F4F7575376BD476C3E10E95C39EECEE9911047DA77595798EC0731320B03D2F5E1022F1C15602FBEA
Full First Name *
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Healthcare Credentials (e.g. MD, MSW, PhD, RN, etc.) *
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By clicking "I Agree," you agree to add your name, credentials, city, state, and specialty/discipline (if provided) to this letter. You also agree to sign on to a statement promoting the open letter, and to sign on to state-specific letters that you reside and provide care in, which may be shared with your state legislature. Your affiliation and specific contact information will not be included. Your contact information will only be used by GLMA and NCTE for verification purposes, and any additional follow-up relating to anti-trans bills. *
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