Proponents of Arkansas Law say it would protect young people from irreversible medical treatments, and the text of HB 1570 claims, contrary to medical consensus, that “the risks of sex reassignment procedures at this stage of clinical treatment far outweigh the benefits predominate study on these procedures. “
Medical research shows the opposite.
In a 2019 statement against laws restricting minors’ access to gender-affirming treatment, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry said, “Blocking access to timely care has been shown to reduce the risk of suicidal thoughts and other negative mental health issues Increased consequences for adolescents. ”
In a broader sense, the American Psychiatric Association said in an official position paper in 2018 that there is “significant and longstanding medical and psychiatric literature” that shows “clear benefits of medical and surgical interventions” for transgender people.
Sam Brinton, vice president of advocacy and government affairs for the LGBTQ suicide prevention organization Trevor Project, said those who reached out to the group during mental crisis often cited discrimination and public expressions of anti-trans sentiment.
“If this discrimination is given an invoice number, it can be devastating,” said Mx. Brinton cited research that indicated that young trans and non-binary individuals who reported being discriminated against based on their gender identity were twice as likely to attempt suicide and that those who reported having at least one “gender-affirming room.” – this could be a doctor’s office – 25 percent fewer suicide attempts in the past year.
Mr Hutchinson’s veto was noticeable not only because he is a Republican, but also because he signed laws just last month that would allow doctors to refuse treatment to people on the basis of religious or moral objections, and who made it transgender. Women and girls were banned from competing on women’s sports teams in high school or college. (Such measures have become popular with conservative lawmakers, who introduced them in more than two dozen states this year.)
He argued that HB 1570 is “exaggerated, extreme, and not grandfatherly about the young people currently under hormonal treatment,” saying, “The state should not assume that it is jumping into the middle of all medical, human and ethical problems. “
