June is dedicated to the celebration and commemoration of LGBTQ+ Pride; but it is also a solemn reminder of the one year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. In the weeks and months following the Dobbs decision, the world watched as, state by state, abortion rights were stripped from residents. Simultaneously, in the same states, other rights were being revoked too: the right to lifesaving, gender-affirming care; the right for trans and non-binary people to use the bathroom that reflects their gender; the right for trans girls and women to participate in women’s sports… the right for trans and non-binary people to exist.
What anti-LGBTQ+ proponents who promote these dangerous and harmful policies fail to understand, however, is that the existence of transgender and non-binary folks is not up for debate. They have been here since the beginning of time and will continue to be. Limiting access or prohibiting gender-affirming care will not change this fact. However, these policies WILL make it exceedingly more difficult for transgender and non-binary people to live the safe and fulfilling lives they deserve. It will continue to push them to the margins, further putting their lives at risk.
Protecting the right to access care is central to Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest’s mission. As we have done with abortion care, we continue to be a safe haven for patients accessing gender-affirming care. We also acknowledge that the co-occurring anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ+, specifically anti-trans, movements mark what we already know: reproductive justice is LGBTQ+ justice, and LGBTQ+ justice is reproductive justice. The concurrent efforts to dismantle reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights are not coincidental. These movements have and always will be intertwined.
While a long road remains ahead, we can take solace in knowing we will walk it as a unified front. LGBTQ+ people are our patients, staff, volunteers, supporters, and community partners. From gender-affirming hormone therapy to STI testing and treatment to cancer screenings to abortion care, each of our services is a high quality, compassionately provided, gender-affirming health care service. We are proud to stand with the LGBTQ+ community not just during Pride Month but every month.
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