Elliot Page. (Instagram)
Elliot Page is urging lawmakers in Montana to vote against two bills attacking transgender youth.
The Umbrella Academy star, who came out as trans in December, said the anti-trans bills “harm trans youth and hurt all of us”.
“Join the fight to protect trans youth,” Elliot Page added, sharing a link to an ACLU template letter to send to lawmakers.
The two Republican-backed bills seek to ban trans girls from playing on school sports teams and criminalise doctors for providing gender-affirming healthcare to trans youth.
Dear #MTLeg. Please vote no on HB 112 and HB 113. These bills harm trans youth and hurt all of us. Join the fight to protect trans youth https://t.co/QrCvvBP1To https://t.co/jkvNnx3vke
— Elliot Page (@TheElliotPage) January 15, 2021
John Fuller, a Republican, proposed both of the anti-trans bills.
The first, HB 112, claims it will “save” women’s sports from transgender women on 5 January. The short title of the bill is “Require interscholastic athletes to participate under sex assigned at birth”. It bans trans women and girls from playing on women’s sports teams.
HB 113 was proposed by Fuller, too. He’s dubbed it the “youth health protection act”, and it wants to prohibit doctors – punishable by a fine – from providing gender-affirming healthcare including puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy or surgeries to trans youth under the age of 18.
ACLU Montana, in the draft letter template that Elliot Page shared, says the bills are “harmful” and “out of touch”.
“Research shows that trans youth whose families support their gender identity have a 52 per cent decrease in suicidal thoughts, a 48 per cent decrease in suicide attempts, and a significant increase in self-esteem and general health,” states the ACLU Montana letter, which can be sent to Montana’s state senator and state house representative.
It continues: “Denying best-practice medical care and support to trans youth can contribute to depression, social isolation, and self-hatred. Denying this care would likely raise suicide rates among young trans people in Montana.
“Like all health care, health care for transgender youth is individualised and based on the needs of each particular person. Given how much these bills will harm young people, it is unconscionable that lawmakers would consider supporting this type of legislation.”