Biden Administration Challenges Arkansas’ SAFE Act

Legislation, Transgender, ,

On Thursday President Biden’s U.S. Department of Justice filed a statement of interest opposing Arkansas’ Save Adolescents From Experimentation (SAFE) Act in federal court.

The SAFE Act is a 2021 law that protects children in Arkansas from sex-reassignment procedures, puberty blockers, and cross-sex hormones.

The DOJ’s statement filed on Thursday calls sex-reassignment procedures “life-saving care” and argues that the SAFE Act violates the U.S. Constitution.

The brief also claims that Arkansas’ reasons for supporting the SAFE Act are “mere pretext for animus against transgender minors” — in other words, that Arkansas’ policymakers must secretly be motivated by hate instead of a desire to help children.

But as we have said time and time again, researchers do not know the long term effects puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones can have on kids.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has never approved puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for the purpose of gender transition. Doctors are giving these hormones to kids off-label, in a manner the FDA never intended.

That is why many experts agree that giving puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children is experimental, at best.

That’s also why a major hospital in Sweden announced earlier this year that it would no longer administer puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children.

It is deeply disappointing that the federal government would use taxpayer dollars to oppose a law that protects children from experimentation. Fortunately, Arkansas’ Attorney General’s office is fighting back, and we believe that federal courts will uphold this good law.

Read The DOJ’s Statement of Interest Opposing the SAFE Act Here.

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Poll Shows Most Arkansas Voters Support SAFE Act

LGBT, Transgender, ,

A new poll by Talk Business & Politics and Hendrix College shows most voters (52.5%) in Arkansas approve the Save Adolescents From Experimentation (SAFE) Act that the Arkansas Legislature recently passed.

The SAFE Act protects children from sex-reassignment procedures, puberty blockers, and cross-sex hormones.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has never approved puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for the purpose of gender transition. Doctors are giving these hormones to kids off-label, in a manner the FDA never intended.

Researchers do not know the long term effects puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones can have on kids.

That is why many experts agree that performing sex-reassignment procedures on children — even giving them puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones — is experimental, at best.

That’s also why a major hospital in Sweden recently announced it would no longer administer puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children.

The Arkansas Legislature passed the SAFE Act earlier this spring to protect children from these procedures. Now a new poll by Talk Business & Politics and Hendrix College shows 52.5% of voters in Arkansas support the SAFE Act; 38% oppose it; and 9.5% don’t have a position on the measure.

The poll found that Republicans and Democrats were deeply divided on the SAFE Act, with 80% of Republicans supporting the measure and 73% of Democrats opposing it. Across the board, support for the SAFE Act was highest among voters ages 30 – 44 and 45 – 64.

Liberal outlets have gone to great lengths to mischaracterize the SAFE Act and what it does. In spite of that, most voters still support the law. This just shows once again that the Arkansas Legislature was right to pass the SAFE Act.

You can read more about the poll here.

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More Evidence Arkansas Was Right to Pass the SAFE Act

Legislation, LGBT, Transgender,

On May 5, Sweden’s Karolinska Hospital announced it would no longer give puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children under the age of 16.

For children ages 16 – 18, the hospital’s new policy says, “treatment may only occur within the clinical trial settings approved by the EPM (Ethical Review Agency/Swedish Institutional Review Board). The patient must receive comprehensive information about potential risks of the treatment, and a careful assessment of the patient’s maturity level must be conducted to determine if the patient is capable of taking an informed stance on, and consenting to, the treatment.”

The policy also notes that giving puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children “should be regarded as experimental.”

In the U.S., the FDA has never approved puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for the purpose of gender transition. Doctors do not know the long term effects puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones can have on kids.

That is why many people equate them with experimenting on children.

That’s also why earlier this year the Arkansas Legislature voted overwhelmingly to pass Act 626 (H.B. 1570), the Save Adolescents From Experimentation Act.

This good law by Rep. Robin Lundstrum (R – Springdale) and Sen. Alan Clark (R – Lonsdale) prohibits sex-reassignment procedures on children. The law also prevents funding of sex-reassignment procedures performed on children.

Act 626 will protect children in Arkansas from being subjected to surgeries and procedures that can leave them sterilized and permanently scarred.

The fact that one of Sweden’s leading hospitals is no longer giving puberty-blockers and cross-sex hormones to kids is just more evidence that Arkansas was right to pass the SAFE Act.

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