LGBT – Page 15 – Family Council

Italian Psychoanalytic Society Expresses “Great Concern” Over Puberty Blockers

Feb 20, 2023Jerry CoxLGBT, TransgenderLGBT, Transgender

Mental health experts in Europe continue to be troubled by the practice of giving puberty blockers to children with gender dysphoria.

In a recent letter to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the Italian Psychoanalytic Society expressed “great concern” over the use of drugs that block puberty in boys and girls.

The society’s letter calls the practice of giving puberty blockers to children “experimentation.”

The letter notes that gender-identity is self-identified, which makes it difficult to evaluate scientifically, and it calls for more rigorous, scientific discussion about gender dysphoria in children.

The Italian Psychoanalytic Society is the latest group in Europe to voice concerns about giving puberty blockers to children.

In 2021 a major hospital in Sweden announced that it would no longer give puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to kids.

Last year the U.K.’s National Health Services closed its Tavistock gender clinic that gave puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children for many years. Many families have indicated their children were subjected to sex-reassignment at that clinic despite an obvious lack of scientific evidence in favor of the procedures and inadequate mental health screenings for children with gender dysphoria.

A gender-identity clinic in Scotland faces similar accusations from former patients who say healthcare professionals rushed them into sex-change procedures.

Concerns about puberty blockers are growing in the United States as well.

Research published just last month calls into question the original studies that encouraged doctors to give puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children with gender dysphoria.

And last summer the U.S. Food and Drug Administration finally added a warning label to puberty blockers in America after biological girls developed symptoms of tumor-like masses in the brain.

That is part of the reason why the Arkansas Legislature has taken steps to protect children with gender dysphoria.

In 2021 the Arkansas Legislature overwhelmingly passed the Save Adolescents From Experimentation (SAFE) Act. The SAFE Act is a good law that protects children in Arkansas from cross-sex hormones, puberty blockers, and sex-reassignment surgeries. However, the law has been tied up in court since the summer of 2021. We expect a decision over its constitutionality in the coming months.

Right now lawmakers are considering S.B. 199 by Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R – Branch) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville).

This good law clarifies that a child who undergoes a sex-change procedure can sue the healthcare provider who performed procedure if the child suffers any physical, psychological, or emotional injury as a result.

Our state laws should protect children from dangerous sex-reassignment procedures, and they should provide children and their families with legal recourse if they are injured by a sex-change procedure.

Laws like the SAFE Act and S.B. 199 help do exactly that.

House Committee Hears Testimony On Bill Protecting Public School Student Privacy in Locker Rooms, Restrooms

Jan 27, 2023Jerry CoxLegislation, TransgenderArkansas Legislature, LGBT, Privacy, Transgender

On Thursday the House Education Committee heard testimony for and against a bill protecting students’ privacy in public school locker rooms, showers, restrooms, changing areas and similar facilities.

H.B. 1156 by Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R – Jonesboro) requires public schools to designate these facilities exclusively for “male” or “female” use.

The bill contains exceptions allowing public schools to make reasonable accommodations for transgender students — such as letting them use a a single-occupancy restroom or changing area.

In the past federal officials and others have tried to force public schools to let students use whatever locker room or restroom they want regardless of their biological sex. In some cases, this has threatened students’ privacy and physical safety.

However, federal courts have made it clear that schools can designate restrooms and locker rooms as “male” and “female.”

Earlier this month the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that “separating school bathrooms based on biological sex passes constitutional muster and comports with Title IX.”

Family Council has said for years that Arkansas needs to pass legislation that will protect the privacy and safety of children in public school showers, locker rooms, and restrooms.

H.B. 1156 is good, commonsense legislation that will do precisely that.

The House Education Committee heard testimony on the bill Thursday, and Family Council expects the committee to vote on the measure at a later date.

Updated: Arkansas Senate Overwhelmingly Passes Bill to Protect Children from Drag Performances

Jan 24, 2023Jerry CoxLegislation, LegislatureArkansas Legislature, Drag Queen Story Time, LGBT, Transgender

*Above: Sen. Gary Stubblefield presents S.B. 43 in the Arkansas Senate.*

On Tuesday the Arkansas Senate overwhelmingly passed a measure protecting children from drag shows.

S.B. 43 by Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R – Branch) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) clarifies that drag shows are a type of adult performance under Arkansas law, and it prohibits adult performances on public property or in view of children.

We have written repeatedly over the past few years about how public schools, colleges, and libraries in Arkansas have scheduled drag performances — including performances intended for children.

Some of these events have been canceled following public backlash.

At public libraries in particular there has been a push to let men dressed in hyper-sexualized, female costumes read books to children. In some parts of the country events like these have exposed children and families to sexual predators.

On Tuesday the Arkansas Senate passed S.B. 43 by a vote of 29 to six.

Drag shows should not take place on public property or anywhere near children. S.B. 43 will protect children from these performances.

The bill now goes to the Arkansas House of Representatives for consideration.