Ohio lawmakers want to prohibit gender affirming care for children who are trans. Never mind what physicians, social workers and teachers might have to say about the needs of trans kids, lawmakers think they know better. Instead of focusing on the care trans kids needs, lawmakers fixate on problems that don’t exist.
Our guest, Melissa McLaren, has a teenage child, Connor, who was born a boy but has identified as a girl from age 3 or so. Melissa explains the challenges that come when a child identifies with a gender that doesn’t match the child’s sex assigned at birth and the depression and anxiety that arise if a trans child doesn’t feel safe and secure. Without that safety and security, a child won’t thrive and learn.
Melissa puts it well. “I’m really tired of legislative bodies trying to legislate bodies.”