When it comes to protecting health care for the transgender community, New Jersey should be in the ranks of Minnesota — not Arizona, writes Denise Rachel. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)
By Denise Rachel
To date, 14 states and Washington, D.C., have enacted bills codifying gender-affirming care/transgender health care. New Jersey lags far behind.
Proper gender-affirming care addresses the physical and mental health aspects of transgender people. All major medical associations have defined and endorsed these health protocols as essential for the health of this community.
In April 2023, Gov. Phil Murphy signed an executive order protecting transgender health care. This order was akin to one signed by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in March 2023. However, this is where the commonality ends. Minnesota proved its commitment to the transgender/gender-nonconforming community later in March 2023 by writing and passing a bill that codified gender-affirming care into law.
In sharp contrast, New Jersey is still languishing with its original executive order. Red states throughout the country have slashed or eliminated transgender health care to varying degrees, making it difficult to impossible for residents to receive proper treatment. Arizona, like New Jersey, only has an executive order in place protecting gender-affirming care. New Jersey should be more like Minnesota — not Arizona.
Here’s the issue with executive orders: they can be eliminated with the stroke of a pen. They are only as good as the governor in office. That means, at any given time (and especially at this time with an upcoming gubernatorial election), the transgender community can lose their precarious protections overnight. If this happens, New Jersey would have taken the first step to join the ranks of states such as Florida, Texas, and West Virginia, among others. To make matters worse, our transgender population will need to make the same gut-wrenching decision to leave the state for care that families from other states have been forced to make.
Currently, both chambers of the New Jersey Legislature are led by Democrats. Murphy is a Democrat. Many in the party promised to provide the LGBTQ+ population with these protections while running their individual campaigns. They had moms like myself campaigning for them in hopes that, if elected, their children (including my daughter) would get the basic human right of health care.
LGBTQ+ advocates in this state have failed to get a meaningful gender-affirming care bill passed despite their major political clout. Grassroots organizations have been trying to collaborate to help fill the gaps but are not even offered a seat at the table. The question becomes, why?
Louise Walpin, half of the lead couple in the legislative fight for marriage equality from 2009 to 2013 and one of the lead plaintiffs in the lawsuit that won marriage equality for New Jersey, told me the following:
“New Jersey used to be one of the leaders nationwide in LGBTQ laws, even with a Republican governor for eight years. Why are 14 states now ahead of us in terms of trans equality? The fight did not end with marriage equality. The trans community was there for our fight for marriage, and we must be there for them. And make no mistake, the current fight will not end with trans people if we do not protect everyone in our community.”
In states where gender-affirming care has been gutted, the following has occurred:
Practitioners have been severely limited. Very few can provide gender-affirming care to transgender people. That leaves waiting lists that can spread into years. That is done by design.
Practitioners can be sued or open to civil or criminal liability for providing care.
Insurance coverage is being eliminated.
Telehealth is being restricted.
This is not an inclusive list. And these are related to adults. Trans youth health care is more precarious.
This issue is about freedom and equality for all people. To New Jersey lawmakers and the advocates who have pull with them: Do not allow us to become the Texas of the East Coast! New Jersey needs a strong gender-affirming care law now.
Denise Rachel is an advocate for transgender equality based in Monmouth County.