Congressional Republicans to hold transphobic, distortion-filled hearing on gender-affirming care (with no medical experts testifying)

I do not apologize for the headline. It is truth. Imagine holding hearings pushing the ideas that pedophilia and homosexuality are linked, or that gay men are so promiscuous that they stuff gerbils up their rectums. Those were false ideas once pushed by Republicans and conservatives.  That should give you an indication of the type of lies to expect Thursday when they attack gender-affirming medical care and trans people in their sham hearing.

 From The Advocate: 

 The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Consitution and Limited Government has scheduled a hearing this week ostensibly to discuss gender-affirming medical care. No doctors will testify. 

 Instead, during Thursday morning’s hearing titled “The Dangers and Due Process Violations of ‘Gender-Affirming Care’ for Children,” lawmakers will hear from a former college athlete who took issue with a transgender team member’s participation, an anti-LGBTQ+ advocate from a conservative interest group, a member of the Federalist Society, and a person who had access to gender-affirming care, decided to detransition, and now advocates against the care for youth. 

 Republicans invited former University of Pennsylvania swimmer (and Lia Thomas critic) Paula Scanlan, detransitioner Chloe Cole, Director for Family Studies at the far-right anti-LGBTQ+ group Family Research Council Jennifer Bauwens, and Federalist Society member May Mailman, who is also a senior fellow at the conservative Independent Women’s Law Center, to testify. 

 Democrats, already frustrated with Republican efforts to strip funding from all bills benefiting the LGBTQ+ community, called the hearing a sham. "The upcoming House Judiciary Constitution Subcommittee hearing is the latest attempt by extremist Republicans to weaponize Congress and inject their culture wars into families’ private health care decisions,” Pennsylvania Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, the ranking Democrat on the subcommittee, tells The Advocate. “Gender-affirming care is safe, effective, medically necessary, and supported by every major reputable medical association. The science is not up for debate. This hearing is nothing more than a concerted effort to cultivate fear and stigmatize vulnerable communities in order to pursue an extremist agenda and political power."

 . . . “This Congress, extreme MAGA Republicans are using the appropriations process to further their radical agenda and attack the LGBTQI+ community,” said Equality Caucus Chair Mark Pocan of Wisconsin in a press release. “Motivated by bigotry and the desire to appeal to the GOP extremist base, more than 40 anti-equality provisions across the 12 appropriations bills were passed. Last week, they went even further and cut millions of dollars in funding for members’ community projects that would have tackled LGBTQI+ homelessness and housing insecurity. I condemn these discriminatory attacks and remain committed to ensuring none of these awful provisions make it into the final funding bill that becomes law.”