Today, Fair Wisconsin will testify before the Assembly Committee on Judiciary in opposition to AB 400, a bill that would threaten access to medically-necessary health care for trans youth.
In addition to mobilizing community members to testify in-person and collecting written testimony to submit on behalf of Wisconsinites, Fair Wisconsin’s Executive Director Abigail Swetz will testify in opposition to AB 400.
Below is an excerpt from Fair Wisconsin’s testimony:
“Gender-affirming care for transgender youth is medically necessary care, just like the kids who receive it – and all kids – are necessary. It is age-appropriate, just as it is appropriate to believe someone at any age when they tell you they know who they are and how they want to live, a perspective backed by rigorous scientific evidence. For young people, it is accessed with informed consent of the patient and their parents. It is individualized, just like the young people who receive it are, themselves, unique individuals. And it is high-quality, just like the bright future this state has ahead of us when all our children thrive. Young people and their families deserve to know it is within their power to continue to access this medically necessary care without anyone else – especially politicians – injecting themselves into their medical decisions. All these young people want – and all their families and providers want for them – is for them to be able to thrive and live in a body that feels like home. I think we can all understand that; that desire is universal, too.
The reality is this: we must protect access to youth gender-affirming care because this medically necessary health care makes it possible for trans kids to grow into awesome adults. You’re meeting some of them today, too. Wisconsin is a better, richer, more beautiful place thanks to these amazing kids, and the least we can do is ensure they can grow into thriving adults who will enrich our state. We should all be so lucky for them to continue to call Wisconsin home. Vote no on Assembly Bill 400.”
Full testimony from Swetz is attached.
Previous testimony on companion bill SB 405 can be found on Fair Wisconsin’s press room webpage.
