A Commitment to Reject Anti-Autonomy Politicians and their Attack on Trans Kids
Maryland's Outgoing and Incoming Congressional Delegation
On Wednesday, December the 11th of 2024, a considerable majority of the US House of Representatives voted to pass a version of the National Defense Authorization Act that includes a ban on essential healthcare for trans minors from being covered by Tricare, the insurance offered to military service members and their families. These include puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy, and other care held standard by World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) and the American Academy of Pediatricians (AAP). They falsely claim these treatments cause permanent infertility and ignore the proven increased suicide risk resulting from blocking these treatments and of the political climate caused by these bills. Already, many in the military have spoken up about how this will harm their families. While up until this vote, Democrats had stayed united in shutting down federal anti-trans legislation, over one-third of the caucus voted to pass this bill.
Stand with us in demanding our elected officials not allow fascist bullies to put trans kids in harm's way. This will not stop here -- if this bill passes, why would we expect them to fight for us in the future, when there are already 84 anti-trans bills on the table in Congress?
Sign this petition to pledge to vote with conscience and send a message to these legislators that they might be slipping on protecting marginalized communities (children even!), but you aren't, and that none of us will forget.
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To:
Maryland's Outgoing and Incoming Congressional Delegation
From:
[Your Name]
The right to life is one of the core rights declared in our country, and that right demands the right to full autonomy over our bodies, from reproductive rights, to healthcare decisions, to our gendered presentations. The house’s passage of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2025 as it stands betrays this core right. It contains a poison pill amendment prohibiting the coverage of gender-affirming care for trans youth by Tricare. If this passes into law, it will cause excessive undue harm to trans youth across the country and impose cruel financial burdens on their families. All based on the false assertion that puberty blockers cause infertility when they are a proven safe and fully reversible standard treatment for trans youth. There is no evidence of consistent risk of permanent infertility caused by hormone replacement therapy. These treatments are still approved by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychological Association, and are in line with the WPATH Standards of Care. This betrayal of the working class families who joined the military with the promise of free healthcare is unconscionable.
Considering this:
WE CONDEMN the house’s passage of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2025 as it stands. We condemn the callousness of our representatives who voted for this despite proclaiming their support for trans rights and bodily autonomy, including 81 Democratic electeds and including 6 of Maryland’s 8 Representatives.
WE DEMAND that President Joseph Biden uphold his pledge to defend transgender rights by vetoing any version of the NDAA containing this provision.
WE PLEDGE to deny our primary votes to any elected representatives of Maryland seeking re-election who voted for this passage, particularly
Kweisi Mfume (D)
Steny Hoyer (D)
Glenn Ivey (D)
Andy Harris (R)
WE PLEDGE to continue to offer our support to our representatives who voted against its passage as long as they continue to support our rights to full bodily autonomy, particularly
Jamie Raskin (D)
WE PLEDGE to demand incoming representatives uphold bodily autonomy as a core value of the citizens of the State of Maryland, including reproductive rights, autonomy in healthcare decisions, and a full defense of the rights of our transgender citizens, particularly
Johnny Olszewski (D)
April McClain-Delaney (D)
Sarah Elfreth (D)
WE PLEDGE to deny support to any of our Senators who vote for this malicious bill, and demand that they vote against any version of the NDAA which contains these provisions.
WE PLEDGE to continue to hold all of our Senators and Representatives accountable for their votes when they return to their constituencies.
WE URGE our elected officials at the state and national level to publicly state their commitment to protecting trans healthcare and to organize their colleagues to do the same.
Signed