The bill protects the provision of gender-affirming care to patients from states where such care is prohibited.
Sixteen attorneys general from Republican-led states, plus Texas, Florida and Kentucky, are threatening to sue Maine if it passes a bill to protect physical care providers who provide gender-affirming care to patients in states where such care is prohibited. Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey responded by saying he was “deeply appalled” by the threatening letter written through the state’s attorneys general.
“This is unprecedented, as at least 17 states and the District of Columbia have already enacted ‘protective laws,'” Frey wrote. “Our Republic endures. “
This bill, LD 227, would make Maine the eighteenth state, according to Frey, to have implemented coverage “shield” laws, guaranteeing access to care for transgender youth by offering legal coverage to doctors and parents who prescribe or seek medical treatment. Additionally, in January, transgender activist and journalist Erin Reed wrote that the bill would “prohibit physical care providers, practitioners, facilities, and similar establishments from disclosing medical data about their patients to out-of-state researchers. “
“Harmony among our states would be best preserved and fostered by exercising restraint on the part of all components seeking to adapt potential care policy options in other states,” Frey wrote.
According to the Movement Advancement Project (MAP), currently 35% of the transgender population ages 13 and older live in states with “protection” laws in place, ensuring adequate health care for transgender people. In addition, 8% of other transgender people live in states with executive orders that implement similar “protection” measures for gender-affirming care.
However, current legislation also provides access to gender-affirming care for the remaining 57% of transgender people, many of whom would likely live in states that have banned such care for transgender youth. According to the Williams Institute’s October 2023 report on UCLA Law, more than 100,000 transgender youth between the ages of thirteen and 17 live in states where gender-affirming health care is prohibited.
“We have the right to disagree and I completely agree that one state cannot control another. Recognizing those shared values, I appreciate your respect for Maine’s ability to provide access to physical care to Maine residents, without interference from outside the state. ” Frey wrote in reaction to the Advocates General’s letter.
Without protective legislation in place, states can investigate transgender patients who leave the state for gender-affirming care. For example, in November of last year, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton requested personal data on transgender patients in Texas who had obtained gender-affirming care. Paxton also recently requested records from PFLAG, a leading LGBTQ rights organization in the U. S. U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention related to its assistance to families of transgender minors seeking gender-affirming remedies, such as puberty blockers and hormones. Paxton’s lawsuits resulted in legislative lawsuits from one of the clinics and PFLAG.
“GL 227 is undeniable proof that Maine law can continue to govern Maine’s physical care. “Polly Crozier, Director of Family Advocacy, GLBTQ Legal Advocates
“This law will protect Maine’s physical care infrastructure from hostile legislation passed for political and non-medical purposes in other states and ensure that Maine providers can continue to provide high-quality, standard-of-care care,” Crozier continued.
If Maine were to pass the protection law, the bill would also affect patients and providers who perform abortions or in vitro fertilization, which would possibly be subject to legal restrictions in other states.
“Full-spectrum reproductive fitness care and gender-affirming fitness care are legal, must-have life-saving facilities in Maine. With LD 227, our elected leaders have the opportunity to advocate for medical and legal care through provider protection. who provide that care and the patients who seek it,” Lisa Margulies, vice president of public affairs for Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund and Planned Northern New England Parenting, said in a statement.
They hold a master’s degree in political science from Central European University and are recently enrolled in law school at the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law. They can be found on Twitter: @zane_crittheory.