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Tag: gender dysphoria

Ohio transgender adults speak against proposed administrative rules that would change health care

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The rules would collect data on transgender medical care and modify the treatment of those with gender dysphoria, requiring medical consent from a psychiatrist, an endocrinologist and a bioethicist before moving forward with treatment.

BY: MEGAN HENRY – Ohio Capital Journal

Ohio transgender adults are deeply concerned Gov. Mike DeWine’s proposed administrative rules would make it harder for them to access gender-affirming care.

DeWine announced two proposed rules earlier this month that would collect data on transgender medical care and modify the treatment of those with gender dysphoria, including requiring patients under 21 undergo six months of counseling before receiving more treatment.

“Anytime the government is telling its citizens what they can and cannot do with their own bodies, it sets a very, very, very dangerous precedent,” said Vincent-Natasha Gay, a transgender adult who lives in central Ohio.

The rules are just proposals at this point and have not gone into effect. Ohioans still have time to submit comments regarding the proposed rules.

“They need to not be implemented,” said Lis Regula, a transgender man living in Columbus. “It would make us the worst state in the entire nation for adults and children who want to obtain gender-affirming care.”

A major issue Terry Brown has with the administrative rules is that they deal with adults.

“You’re talking about restricting people who are classified as adults in the eyes of the law,” Brown, a trans man, said.

The Ohio Senate Democratic Caucus recently sent a letter to DeWine expressing their concerns about how the proposed rules could get in the way of adults accessing gender-affirming care.

“While these rules may have been drafted with the intention of taking a more pragmatic approach than the legislature, in reality, this proposal could make it more difficult for trans Ohioans to receive the life-saving medical care that they need,” the letter said. “The proposed rules go even further than House Bill 68 by interfering with the lives and medical care of both trans children and trans adults.”

House Bill 68 would ban gender-affirming care for trans youth. DeWine vetoed HB 68, but the House voted to override his veto last week. The Senate will vote to override the veto on Wednesday next week.

One of the proposed administrative rules would require obtaining medical consent from a psychiatrist, an endocrinologist, and a bioethicist before moving forward with treatment.

DeWine’s spokesperson Dan Tierney said this rule would only apply to people who start receiving treatment after the rule takes effect.

“It’s the Department of Health’s intention that it applies to treatment that starts moving forward after the enactment of the rule,” Tierney said. “That’s the way House Bill 68 was written. We intend this to be consistent with that.”

Lawmakers added a grandfather clause to HB 86 that would allow doctors who already started treatment on patients to continue.

But transgender adults argue the language of the proposed rules is vague and ambiguous.

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“I feel like that was not very clear at all,” Brown said. “Because of that vagueness, we really still don’t know how it’s going to be applied.”

This just leaves Regula with more questions about continuing care.

“That doesn’t address if someone has to put a pause on things for some reason if they’re going to be able to get back to their treatment,” Regula said.

Vincent-Natasha Gay is currently receiving gender-affirming care and would be considered grandfathered in under the proposed administrative rules.

“But that shouldn’t matter,” Gay said. “There are so many people out there who are trans and just don’t know they’re trans yet, or are in the closet and hiding because they’re afraid for their life. And my goodness, with these proposed rule changes, that’s just going to make that even worse.”

Health experts say it would be harmful if someone who’s already receiving treatment abruptly stopped, Tierney said.

“That could have some negative health consequences,” he said. “That’s certainly not the intent for anything along those lines.”

Instead, Tierney said these rules are meant to prohibit health care providers from giving treatment without consultation.

“Most of the providers are doing this in the comprehensive, multidisciplinary way, anyways, so they would likely be in compliance with the rule,” he said.

The proposed rule doesn’t mean people have to sit down with a psychiatrist, an endocrinologist, and a bioethicist, Tierney said

“The bioethicist helps develop how each facility is going to deal with cases of how the treatments occur at that particular facility,” he said. “At the very least, mental health care is generally provided by the psychiatrist, not the endocrinologist, and endocrinology is generally provided by the endocrinologist, not by the psychiatrist.”

But Ares Page is concerned about adding people to the medical team that might not have proper training in treating transgender patients.

“I don’t see where that’s going to be safe, and where that’s going to help us improve our safety,” said Page, a transgender adult living in Akron.

Page is also worried how much extra it will cost to add these specialists to a person’s medical team.

“Some people’s insurance companies may not allow them, or approve them for these specialists,” Page said.

Ohioans have until 5 p.m. Friday to give feedback on the proposed transition care rule by emailing out to MH-SOT-rules@mha.ohio.gov with the subject line, “Comments on Gender Transition Care Rules.”

Data Collection

The second proposed administrative rule would require data collection around gender-affirming care, including requiring a health care provider to report non-identifying treatment for “gender-reassignment surgery, gender-transition services, genital gender reassignment surgery,” according to the proposed administrative rules.

Under the proposed administrative rules, the Ohio Department of Health would share the aggregate data collected with Ohio lawmakers starting Jan. 31, 2025.

But many transgender adults question why the data collection is necessary.

“You can assign a code … But there always has to be a place where my name goes back to the code,” Brown said. “That is a problem.”

Having a common data set on medical treatment will help people make an informed decision, Tierney said, who explained ODH collects data on things like pediatric flu deaths, food poisoning and abortion.

“It’s all de-identified, it’s all aggregate,” Tierney said. “There’s really no way you could identify any patient from the data.”

But people are concerned it would be hard to have the data be completely anonymous, especially for folks who live in a small community.

“If it’s a matter of three (trans) people in a community and a doctor’s office or hospital system is treating all three of those people, how do you really anonymize three folks?” Regula said.

Feedback for the data collection proposal must be sent to ODHrules@odh.ohio.gov by Feb. 5.

Despite these proposed rules and ongoing legislation targeting trans youth, most people interviewed for this story say they would like to stay in Ohio if they can.

“This is my home,” Regula said. “I’m an Ohio boy born and bred. I was raised here, my family is here. … I can’t imagine leaving home … I also want to be able to make sure that my daughter and I have the medical care that we need.”

But Page has contemplated leaving the country altogether.

“(The government) has no right to tell me what to do with my body,” Page said.

Follow OCJ Reporter Megan Henry on X.

MEGAN HENRY

Megan Henry is a reporter for the Ohio Capital Journal and has spent the past five years reporting in Ohio on various topics including education, healthcare, business and crime. She previously worked at The Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA Today Network.

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Jan 20, 2024
Jeopardy champion Ohioan, others testify against anti-LGBTQ health care bill

Amy Schneider, Dayton native and Jeopardy! champion, leaves the Ohio House Families, Aging and Human Services Committee after testifying against House Bill 454. Schneider, who is a trans woman, said the bill would be “tragic” for Ohio children. Photo: Susan Tebben, OCJ

BY: SUSAN TEBBEN – Ohio Capital Journal

A packed and stuffy Families, Aging and Human Services committee room was flanked by multiple overflow rooms, where applause could be heard after parents, trans advocates and individuals implored the committee not to approve of House Bill 454, a bill created by committee member state Rep. Gary Click, R-Vickery.

One of the testimonies came from Dayton native Amy Schneider, a trans woman who went on to become a Jeopardy! super champion, and has used her platform to support her fellow LGBTQ+ community members.

“To be given the chance in Ohio, where I spent 30 years of my life, to have a chance to make a difference and have a chance to actually, if nothing else, slow down these laws and give trans kids a little bit longer to be safe, then I’ve just got to do it,” Schneider told the OCJ before she gave her testimony to the committee.

In her testimony, she sought not to demonize those who support the bill, but to ask that they do what they claim is the main goal of the bill: protecting children.

“But if you do share that goal, then passing this bill would be a tragic mistake,” Schneider said. “Because far from protecting children, this bill would put some of them in grave danger, a danger that not all them would survive.”

https://youtube.com/watch?v=5sRGUicLu6Q%3Ffeature%3Doembed

Several of those that testified, including Schneider, called gender-affirming care “life-saving” care, in that it would help suicide rates among trans individuals, and the overall mental health of those attempting to live as they want to live.

“With this bill, I wouldn’t be able to appear as I want to appear to the public with a form that would greatly appeal to me,” said 15-year-old Cass Steiner, who appeared alongside her mother, Kat. “This would likely send me, and everyone else who is expecting treatment, into another deep depression.”

State Rep. Gary Click, R-Vickery, looks on as the House Families, Aging and Human Services Committee, of which he’s a member, listens to testimony against his bill restricting gender-affirming care, House Bill 454. The bill did not see a vote on Wednesday.
Photo: Susan Tebben, OCJ

In the middle of two hours of testimony, Click introduced a substitute version of the bill, that he said was an attempt to “meet in the middle” of opposition and support.

In the new version, puberty blockers or hormone therapy is allowed for minors, but only after a doctor confirms that the child “has received on a routine basis and for at least a two-year period counseling related to gender dysphoria, mental health and the risks of gender transition,” according to the sub bill’s analysis by the Legislative Service Commission.

A doctor must also screen for other things that “may be influencing the minor’s gender dysphoria,” including depression, autism or ADHD, and “ensure that these comorbidities are treated and stabilized for at least two years.”

Along with conducting other physical, sexual, mental and emotional abuse screenings, a second doctor must be consulted and agree to the treatment plan.

Asked twice how the two-year time frame was decided on, Click told reporters it was “discussed by some other folks who came up with that and I thought that sounded reasonable.”

He did not specify who he consulted with to come to that amount of time.

The substitute bill also seeks to keep track of the number of medical and therapy appointments the minor attended before a physician recommended hormones or puberty blockers, any mental health conditions before being diagnosed with a “gender-related condition” and any follow-up the minor received after treatment.

The bill also requires physicians to report “the number of minors who resumed identification with their biological sex,” and “the number of minors for whom the physician previously prescribed drugs or hormones who have not been prescribed those hormones or drugs for one year or more,” according to the LSC analysis.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=WUIJG2_rhU8%3Ffeature%3Doembed

That information would be reported on a yearly basis to the General Assembly and to the Ohio Department of Health.

Like the abortion ban that is currently held up in court, violating HB 454 could put doctor’s medical licenses at risk, and the state Attorney General would be authorized to bring against anyone violating the bill, should it become law.

The bill was not voted on during Wednesday’s committee meeting, with chair Susan Manchester, R-Waynesfield, adjourning the meeting immediately after the last witness of the day finished.

It’s not clear what the fate of the bill will be from here, with the General Assembly’s session ending at the end of December. More hearings could be scheduled, which Click supports because he said there are more people to hear from, particularly those who have been “damaged” by gender-affirming care.

He said the testimony he heard on Wednesday wasn’t anything he hadn’t heard before, but it didn’t change his mind on the bill.

“(Children) have to have that period to work through this to make sure this isn’t a phase, it’s not a social contagion … we want to give them that legitimate chance to work through this,” Click said.

He said he won’t “write anything off” in terms of new amendments to the bill, but he feels the bill has come as close to “the middle” as possible.

“There are proponents of this bill who are not happy with some of the concessions that we made, and of course the opponents aren’t happy with the fact that we didn’t make enough,” Click said.

For Schneider, she sees attempts to keep trans folks from getting the care they need as a negative response to success and progress the trans community has had over the last few decades. Progress that will continue, she says.

“The momentum will continue to be on our side and there’s this pain right now, but this is just sort of the last gasp of that resistance,” Schneider said.

Nov 17, 2022
Ohio pediatric doctors decry government control of gender-affirming care

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BY: SUSAN TEBBEN – Ohio Capital Journal

Doctors in Ohio’s major children’s hospitals say a bill that would regulate and restrict gender-affirming care puts both the patients and the doctors at risk, and brings government overreach into medical decisions.

House Bill 454 had its fourth hearing in the Ohio House Families, Aging and Human Services Committee on Wednesday, where opponent testimony was heard from leaders of gender programs and treatment centers, all of whom said not only is a disconnect between a gender assigned at birth and one’s identity a medical condition, but it is one that should get the treatment that is needed.

The decision as to how that treatment is conducted should not be made by the Ohio legislature, the medical professionals argued, but by those going through the process.

“Decisions regarding treatment of gender dysphoria should be left to parents and their adolescents in consultation with their health care providers,”
Dr. Armand Antommaria

“Decisions regarding treatment of gender dysphoria should be left to parents and their adolescents in consultation with their health care providers,” Dr. Armand Antommaria, of the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital & Medical Center, told the committee on Wednesday.

The bill, introduced by Republican state Reps. Gary Click and Diane Grendell, bars health professionals from providing “gender transition procedures” to minors, or even referring minors to doctors for the procedures.

Medical professionals who provide such services could be accused of engaging in “unprofessional conduct,” which could affect their medical license, and could even expose doctors to lawsuits.

The bill also restricts public funds from going to organizations who provide the procedures and would keep insurance coverage from going to gender-affirming care in minors, including Medicaid.

All school staff, including school nurses, would be banned from “withholding, or encouraging or coercing a minor to withhold, from the minor’s parent or legal guardian, information that a minor’s gender identity is inconsistent with the minor’s biological sex.”

But the physicians who spoke on the bill on Wednesday said the parents are engaged in the entire process when treatment for gender dysphoria – when a person’s gender identity differs from their gender assigned at birth – is conducted at Ohio medical facilities.

“As a lifelong conservative, I implore you not to legislate personal family decision-making or override the professional practice of medicine,” said Nick Lashutka, president and CEO of the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association.

Supporters of the bill include the religious lobby group Center for Christian Virtue, whose leaders deny that a person can be anything other than the biological gender they were assigned at birth. Dr. David Axelson, head of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, said starting from the standpoint that gender dysphoria is a medical diagnosis, not an elective procedure, is vital to helping with children’s health.

“Fundamental to our understanding of gender dysphoria is understanding and recognizing that medically, it is absolutely possible that a person’s gender identity can differ from their body for many reasons, and that these experiences are not choices or ideologies,” Axelson said.

Lashutka submitted estimates that the OCHA member hospitals have seen about 3,300 patients in clinics under the age of 18 for gender dysphoria.

Other data provided by Lashutka said patients receive a comprehensive evaluation by mental health specialists, and only 7% of minor patients have been prescribed “puberty blockers.” Only 35% of minor patients are prescribed hormone treatments, according to the OCHA data.

“No minor can or has received any treatment without parental or legal guardian consent,” Lashutka said. “There has never been evidence presented to the contrary.”

Antommaria said HB 454’s passage would “threaten the safety of some of Ohio’s most vulnerable children; it would threaten the mental health of adolescents with gender dysphoria.”

The committee did not conduct a vote on the bill Wednesday, but one clarification was made by Click. He said questions had arisen about the bill’s regulation of therapy as a “gender transition procedure.” The Legislative Service Commission decided counseling does not meet the definition of gender transition procedure under the bill, according to Click.

“In all the things (opponents and sponsors) disagree on, I think that’s one of the things we can all agree is that children do deserve to have counseling, and so we want to make sure that that’s possible,” Click said.

Late Wednesday evening, another trans bill was pushed through the House along party lines, despite having not had a hearing in committee since June of last year.

State Rep. Jena Powell’s bill to ban transgender athletes from competing in sports alongside others of their gender was added to a bill regarding local mentorship while it went through floor debate Wednesday night.

Republican supporters said the issue centered on fairness in sports, and several female legislators talked of their own experiences in sports, arguing about the biological differences between boys and girls.

“I got no issue with trans people,” said state Rep. Sara Carruthers, R-Hamilton. “I do have an issue with physically being able to outdo women in women’s sports.”

Democrats, wearing rainbow lapel pins in honor of June’s designation as LGBTQ+ Pride month, heavily criticized the bill.

“How nice it is that it’s 11 p.m. at night and we’re attacking trans kids in Ohio”
Rep. Kent Smith, D-Euclid

“How nice it is that it’s 11 p.m. at night and we’re attacking trans kids in Ohio,” said state Rep. Kent Smith, D-Euclid.

State Rep. Richard Brown, D-Canal Winchester, called out sponsors for bringing an amendment that “is not germane at all” to the original bill’s purpose, and multiple Democrats criticized legislation of youth in Ohio, especially without passage by a House committee before it was presented on the floor.

“This is an issue searching for a problem that doesn’t exist,” said state Rep. Phil Robinson, D-Solon.

The bill must now go to the state Senate before it can move to the governor for signature.

Last June, when the House tried to push through the bill the first time, Gov. Mike DeWine criticized the measure.

“This issue is best addressed outside of government, through individual sports leagues and athletic associations, including the Ohio High School Athletic Association, who can tailor policies to meet the needs of their member athletes and member institutions,” the governor said in a statement.

Also as previously reported, only five transgender girls competed in women’s high school sports as of April of last year.

Jun 3, 2022
Local reaction to proposed Ohio bill that targets vulnerable youth

Cassie Mattia lives in Historic Downtown Loveland, Ohio.

If we don’t protect our youth who will? In May, Ohio Paul Zeltwanger and Thomas Brinkman proposed House Bill 658, which states:

“If a government agent or entity has knowledge that a child under its care or supervision has exhibited symptoms of gender dysphoria or otherwise demonstrates a desire to be treated in a manner opposite of the child’s biological sex, the government agent or entity with knowledge of that circumstance shall immediately notify, in writing, each of the child’s parents and the child’s guardian or custodian. The notice shall describe the total circumstances with reasonable specificity.”

gen·der dys·pho·ri·a

ˈjendər disˈfôrēə/

noun

MEDICINE

The condition of feeling one’s emotional and psychological identity as male or female to be opposite to one’s biological sex. How to pronounce gender dysphoria.

In plainer language House Bill 658, also known as the “Parent’s Rights Bill,” would make any school administrator or teacher who allows or offers gender dysphoria (the condition of feeling one’s emotional and psychological identity as male or female to be opposite to one’s biological sex) treatment, including resources on sex and gender or counseling, for a minor “without the written, informed consent of each of the child’s parents and the child’s guardian or custodian” they could be charged with a felony in the fourth degree. The parents of the student according to the bill would get the ultimate decision whether their child gets access to treatment, including educational materials, counseling or medical services.

If this House Bill is implemented it could have detrimental consequences for teachers and even more importantly for those students affected. Teachers are there to lend their students a helping hand educationally and emotionally in order to prepare them for what’s to come once they are out on their own, why take this from them?

A teacher’s take on House Bill 658

I spoke to one Loveland teacher who wishes to remain anonymous, a mom of a teenager. I’ll call her Susan. She told me that for many students their home life is a wreck and out of control with issues of poverty, broken families, and domestic abuse. “For many of my students, the only adult in their life that can be trusted may be their teacher. Teachers who lend an ear and can be trusted can be an enormous help that often reflects on their academic achievement. We care for the whole child.”

Susan told me that for many students their home life is a wreck and out of control with issues of poverty, broken families, and domestic abuse. “For many of my students, the only adult in their life that can be trusted may be their teacher.”

Susan told me that she just overheard a conversation between her daughter and a friend about a classmate they thought was transgender. “I wondered, do they know what that means? Are they friends with this young person? How do my kid and others treat her? Because I am a teacher, would I be required to file a report with the District? These are all questions that ran through my head as a mom and a teacher.”

Susan said she wants to protect and support all of her kids, her biological ones and the ones that are “her’s” for a school year. “I want to be able to do that freely and openly and with my heart.” She said that some of her students desperately need someone they can trust in their life and the last thing they need is another person that will let them down because politicians want school staff charged as felons if they don’t report that the student herself, or a classroom teacher, principal, gym teacher, bus driver, or classmate may be questioning her gender identity.

Susan asked, “Just what stereotypes am I going to be expected to police?

HB 658 is a harmful bill that takes aim at some of our most vulnerable — transgender youth — by forcing school officials to serve as ‘gender police’ and out them or risk getting a felony.” – Alana Jochum

LGBTQ advocacy

“HB 658 is a harmful bill that takes aim at some of our most vulnerable — transgender youth — by forcing school officials to serve as ‘gender police’ and out them or risk getting a felony,” said Alana Jochum, executive director of LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Ohio. Jochum told NBC News. “This exposes young people to discrimination, harassment, and bullying.”

Jochum couldn’t be more correct if you really take a look at the alarming statistics. One study done by the Cincinnati Enquirer showed that 64% of LGBTQ youth in Ohio heard “negative comments” about their gender identity or sexual orientation from their family and in result, according to another study done by National Transgender Discrimination, 41% attempted suicide. Though many transgender students

75% of transgender youth have felt unsafe at school after being outed and have lower GPA’s due to missing school in fear of their safety.

have experienced negative comments, violence has become the most popular form of dealing with transgender youth. Disturbingly enough 19% of transgender youth, according to the National Center for Transgender Equality, experience the majority of violent abuse in their home from their own family members. Along with dealing with all the dissension from family members 75% of transgender youth, according to a national survey done by GLSEN (pronounced “glisten”), have felt unsafe at school after being outed and in result have lower GPA’s due to missing school in fear of their safety. With all the facts at hand, The Ohio Education Association who represents 125,000 teachers and support professionals, have openly opposed the bill.

Violence has become the most popular form of dealing with transgender youth.

Kathryn Lorenz is the Loveland Board of Education Vice President

While researching House Bill 658 I managed to only get a response from two local representatives of the Loveland School Board, one being Kathryn Lorenz, the Board Vice President and the other being Loveland School Board Member, Ned Portune. Lorenz’s response was, “In the case of House bill 658, we would have to say that we do not yet have enough information, nor have we met as a board for a few weeks, so we do not yet have a Board statement to make.”

Ned Portune is a member of the Loveland School Board

Portune added that he, “…simply has not been fully informed at this point on HB 658 to have an educated opinion. There are several items in your statement that would certainly give me a gut reaction, and opinion on, if true as presented. But I need time to fully review the Bill, its implications and existing laws to have any formal statement.”

School Superintendent Amy Crouse, High School Principal Peggy Johnson, and assistant principals at the High School did not respond.

Studies show most transgender youth are fully aware of their gender identity by age 4.

After attempting several times to contact both Representatives Paul Zeltwanger and Thomas Brinkman through email and phone about House Bill 658, I, unfortunately, got no response. It wasn’t hard to find Brinkman’s opinion on the issue in several other publications though, voicing to WCPO, “Parents have the right to decide what is best for their children,” and telling WOSU Public Media, “And if somebody doesn’t like it, you’re emancipated at age 18 and you can go do whatever the heck you want.” Seems pretty harsh considering the transgender population represents about 0.3% (700,000) of Americans and studies show most transgender youth are fully aware of their gender identity by age 4. Are we encouraging parents and administrators to discard their students or child’s gender identity in fear of social rejection? Do these children not deserve to live an authentic life?

If you would like to explore the topic of Transgender youth and adults even further please check out “Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric.” You can also watch on Netflix.

What local professional counselors say

Fran Hendrick, PCC has offices at Wildflower House in the West Loveland Historic District.

House Bill 658 is expected to be presented to the Ohio General Assembly in the Fall and will be without a doubt one of the most controversial bills to date. Many have opinions on this issue one being Fran Hendrick, a respected and highly educated clinical counselor who specializes in assisting women and girls who are experiencing depression or anxiety triggered by a crisis or major life change. When I presented Fran with House Bill 658 and asked what her opinion was she had a lot to say and rightfully so considering one of her life missions, according to Fran’s website franhendrick.com, is to “gently help you find and shelter your spark (the essence of who you are at your core) and grow it so that it illuminates your person and is radiated through words, actions and decisions, big and small, that make up your daily life.”

In a culture such as ours, it is a matter of life and death for transgender youth to decide if and when to trust another person with their reality. – Fran Hendrick, PCC

“Being a parent takes great courage, even more so when your child presents you with something that you’re unfamiliar with – or even afraid of. In a perfect world, a child who feels somehow ‘different’ from their peers (‘their’ is deliberately gender-neutral), they could consult their parents, who would strive to deeply understand the child’s experience, would provide accurate empathy, and would go on a crash course to learn everything they could about the unfamiliar issue. And, so very fortunate for their children, there are many parents like these.

But in the real world, an adolescent boy saying to his father, ‘Dad, I think I’m a girl’ is very likely to encounter disgust, rejection, rage, or even violence, not empathy and understanding.

While the intent of this bill, giving benefit to grave doubt, could be a deeply uninformed and misguided attempt to protect children, that seems unlikely. My sense is that in truth it is more about attempting to hand parents the power to say no to their child’s gender identity,” Hendrick said, “But gender identity – and sexual orientation, for that matter – are not matters of choice. And in a culture where transgender people are assaulted and even murdered at a rate higher than their cisgender counterparts, where transgender youth are summarily shunned and rejected by their own parents (the rate of homelessness is, not surprisingly, very high), where the suicide rate that results from these atrocious facts is far higher than for other youth – in a culture such as ours, it is a matter of life and death for transgender youth to decide if and when to trust another person with their reality, and, most importantly, whom to trust.

To be “outed” for the choice to trust; or to be prosecuted for trying to be help – these are not protections. Actions like these support bigotry, and increase isolation and despair. – Fran Hendrick, PCC

To be “outed” for the choice to trust; or to be prosecuted for trying to be help – these are not protections. Actions like these support bigotry, and increase isolation and despair. Stopping a teacher from helping such a student, one who is likely alone with the reality of their gender identity, who stands to be emotionally and psychologically rejected, or even physically abused, by their own family is, quite simply, a cruelty. This, I strongly believe, is not what the overwhelming majority of parents want for their own or anyone else’s children. This is bad enough. However, this bill opens the door to much more far-reaching damage than this.”

Is he to be turned in to the gender police?

The talented young male artist who despises sports – is he to be turned in to the gender police? The girl who chooses overalls and a t-shirt rather than a dress and a mani-pedi –what of her? The sponsors of the bill have explicitly said that teachers should be required to inform on them, as well. We have an essential responsibility to ensure that proposed legislation protects vulnerable people from the bigotry endemic in our society. This legislation explicitly deprives them of protection.”

Ultimately what it comes down to is ensuring that our children are and feel safe when going to school. Teachers and administrators are the ones that take on the responsibility of creating that fun, loving and supportive atmosphere so that our children get the best opportunities in life. Passing a bill such as House Bill 658 only presents another obstacle that both teachers and administrators have to overcome. Don’t these professionals have enough obstacles to conquer as is?

Both Justin Haake and Tonya Schaeffer who are Professional Clinical Counselors for Hope Restored Counseling Services in Loveland couldn’t agree more.

Justin Haake is a Licensed Professional Counselor at Hope Restored Counseling Services in Loveland and works primarily with adolescents and adults, specifically during transitional periods in life.

Haake said, “For some, teachers and school administrators may be the only people in schools that feel safe for students to reach out to. Imagine the fear of asking for support, knowing that you’ll either be outed or put the teacher or administrator at risk of a felony.”

Schaeffer said, “From my perspective, this would most likely increase the level of bullying and possible harm to these students. There is already so much shame and stigma attached with Transgender people, and they need as much support as they can get,”

Tonya Schaeffer is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor and co-owner of Hope Restored Counseling Services in Loveland.

Schaeffer added, “Support is out there. In fact, we are offering a psycho-educational group starting in September that offers education, support and a safe environment for Transgender students to express themselves.” She said they hope to offer a similar group to parents who are trying to understand what their child is going through, explore what the parents are experiencing and provide support. “We currently serve the LGBTQ community, and we are expanding those services. I recently read a statement that it is estimated that 41% of trans men and women have attempted suicide. I don’t believe this bill would help–it seems like it could only hurt.”

Susan, the mom and teacher said, “I am thankful I live in a community where support services like those provided by Hope Restored, and Fran Hendrick at Wildflower House are nearby for my students and their families.”

Transgender youth have so many mountains to climb within their own scientific makeup and allowing a bill like House Bill 658 to go through in hindsight is taking away their basic rights as Americans and human beings.

If you or a loved one knows a transgender child, teenager, or their parents that would like to explore counseling options please visit www.franhendrick.com or www.hoperestoredcounseling.com.

“GLSEN (pronounced “glisten”) was founded in 1990 by a small, but dedicated group of teachers in Massachusetts who came together to improve an education system that too frequently allows its lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) students to be bullied, discriminated against, or fall through the cracks.”

Resources For Families of Children Who Are Transgender

Aug 14, 2018