Today, GLMA joined PFLAG and individual families and medical providers in suing the State of Texas to block Senate Bill 14 before it can go into effect September 1. On behalf of our member medical providers and represented by Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, the ACLU, and the Transgender Law Center, we are honored to challenge this harmful, cruel, and unconstitutional law.
This law would ban necessary and life-saving medical care for Texas’s transgender youth, cut off access to care for adolescent minors already receiving treatment, and require the state to revoke the medical licenses of physicians providing the best standard of care to their trans patients.
GLMA Executive Director Alex Sheldon, MA, has issued the following statement:
"In joining this filing, GLMA is issuing a resounding rejection of S.B. 14, recognizing it as an affront to healthcare ethics and the medical evidence that should govern healthcare policies. Under this law, GLMA’s health professional members are forced to make an unthinkable choice: either endanger the health and wellbeing of their transgender patients by abiding by this harmful legislation or violate the law by delivering evidence-based, life-saving care in accordance with their extensive medical training and professional ethics. Today we take a stand against S.B. 14 and all such laws that undermine the fundamental obligation that health professionals have to prioritize patient health above all else.”
GLMA President Nick Grant, PhD, ABPP, has issued the following statement:
"Through this significant legal action, GLMA underscores its commitment to protecting both providers and patients in our mission to advance LGBTQ+ health equity. The alarming implications of S.B. 14, along with other restrictive policies and legislation related to gender-affirming care, represent a direct threat to the welfare of thousands of families. S.B. 14 takes aggressive steps toward creating an environment that endangers the health and well-being of those affected and this filing seeks to remedy that harm before the worst effects take hold.”
Read more from our partners here.
GLMA remains steadfast in our commitment to safeguard the rights and well-being of the targeted families and transgender youth in Texas, and nationwide.