WA State passes legislation to protect Trans folx seeking healthcare
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This year has brought on the most anti-trans and anti-healthcare legislation than most any other year in US history. In 2023 alone there have been nearly 500 bills introduced across the country against the trans community. Nearly 150 of these bills have been related to healthcare alone. Restricting access to Telehealth, prescription medication, and other gender-affirming healthcare services are only a few of the examples. In some states, bills only get introduced but are not passed, in others, like Texas and Florida, some of these bills are now officially law, and affecting the lives of thousands of people.
The good news is more states are introducing and passing bills that support and protect affirming healthcare, including protections for medication, protections for providers who serve the trans community, and legal protection for those seeking refuge from states in which gender-affirming care is criminalized.
These bills have been called "shield laws," that is, laws that shield the trans community and their healthcare providers from the anti-trans laws of other states. This week, Washington state has become the 10th state to pass its own shield law.
House Bill 1469 passed the legislature with a 29-20 vote, and is now waiting for Governor Jay Inslee’s signature.
Of note, this bill includes protections for those seeking abortion healthcare, including anyone who is a resident of a state in which abortion is criminalized.
The other states that have passed similar bills are California, Colorado, New Mexico, Minnesota, Illinois, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Maryland.
A number of excellent and reassuring provisions are included in Washington’s bill including:
· Protection of medical records for any gender affirming care or abortion care received in WA state
· Protection from wiretaps from law enforcement in other states
· Protection from subpoenas of any healthcare provider who provided transgender healthcare or abortion care
· Denial of extradition out of state, among other protections.
For healthcare providers, like myself at Village Midwifery & Family Care, this means I can rest assured that all the medical records I have for my trans clients are safely protected from any law enforcement outside of Washington who may be seeking to subpoena records for the purpose of charging someone with a crime related to their healthcare.
Along the same lines, any person who travels to Washington state, whether temporarily while seeking gender-affirming (or abortion) care, or to permanently move here, will be protected by law from the criminal enforcement laws of transphobic states.
Washington state, then has become one of a number of states that is a safe haven for the transgender community! Not only are there fewer anti-trans and anti-healthcare bills being proposed, but our government has made it clear there is a commitment to bodily autonomy; and further, a commitment to the hundreds of healthcare providers who are serving the LGBTQIA+ community.
Summarizing the importance of this bill, Senator Yasmin Trudeau (D) stated in a recent interview:
“The purpose of this bill is to ensure that those seeking care or those providing care for reproductive and gender-affirming care under the laws of our state are shielded from liability. Washington voters and this Legislature have been very clear on this issue — we support the right to that access, we also support anyone who comes into this state to receive that access.”
To learn more about this bill, or to find safe healthcare providers in Washington state and all over the country, take a look at our resources page.
References:
Tracking the rise of anti-trans bills in the U.S. Learn | U.S. anti-trans legislation history. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2023, from https://translegislation.com/learn
Bill Status-at-a-glance. Bill Summary RSS. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2023, from https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1469&Initiative=false&Year=2023
Riedel, S. (2023, April 12). Washington State passed a "shield law" to protect trans people and abortion seekers. Them. Retrieved April 12, 2023, from https://www.them.us/story/washington-state-shield-law-trans-health-care-abortion
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