Two new bills filed this week target transgender North Carolinians, part of a wave of anti-trans legislation filed by Republicans across the country.
Senate Bill 514 would prohibit transgender people under the age of 21 from receiving medical care related to gender transition, even if judged medically necessary by their parents and doctors.
The bill closely mirrors a similar legislation filed across the country, including in Arkansas this week where a similar bill was passed into law this week. To enact the law, that state’s legislature overturned the veto of Republican governor Asa Hutchinson, who condemned it as “government overreach.”
But in several respects SB 514 goes beyond the law passed in Arkansas.
Published January 01. 2021 1:30PM
Dr. Stephen R. Smith
Recently, a patient of mine nearly died when he allowed his blood count to get too low. The patient suffers from a serious, chronic illness that causes slow blood loss. He didn’t have insurance, so he avoided medical care until he felt so weak that he would go for a transfusion. This time, he waited too long. His hemoglobin fell to 4.7 one-third of normal levels which could have been fatal. Fortunately, he survived, but his brush with death is a story that many Americans who also lack health insurance know all too well.