US House votes to bans trans youth healthcare through medicaid, and why that’s only the third worst thing to happen to trans people in the last 24 hours

This is only the third worst blow for trans rights in the last 24 hours.

By Jane Migliara Brigham

Today the United States House of Representatives voted to ban all coverage of trans youth healthcare through medicaid.  This is only the third worst blow for trans rights in the last 24 hours.

It will not ban any services that were not made illegal for a provider to give under the much broader healthcare ban passed by congress last night.

It also does not take immediate effect, unlike the recent rule changes enacted by HHS this morning, which will bankrupt any hospital or clinic which provides trans healthcare to minors.  

This bill was passed by a vote of 215-201, with 17 not voting.  Of the Democrats, 4 voted for the bill and 8 did not vote.

The 4 who voted yes were Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA03), Henry Cuellar (TX28), Don Davis (NC01), and Vicente Gonzalez (TX34).  The 8 who did not vote were Casar, Courtney, Dean, Doggett, Fields, McBath, Swalwell, and Williams.

This is the single biggest breach in Democrat support for trans rights at the federal level.  Just last night, only 3 Democrats voted for a total ban on trans youth healthcare.  

The only implication was that between last night and this afternoon, 10 more House Democrats felt comfortable voting against trans rights.

If Democrats lose the will to champion trans rights, then trans people will have lost all political representation within the American government.

If you support our coverage, consider subscribing to The Needle as a Gold tier supporter, at $20 a month- you'll get access to all content! For a limited time, you can get half off your first three months!

Become Gold!