Trans rights are human rights. We must push for the passage of the federal Equality Act to amend federal civil rights laws to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
We must also ensure that medical treatment related to gender such as surgery and hormone treatment are decisions made between doctors and patients. Like abortion, this is an issue of bodily autonomy. Many years of scientific research guide medical professionals in the treatment of adults and youth with gender dysphoria. Neither the government nor anyone else has a right to interfere in the care decisions of medical professionals with their trans patients.
Recognizing human rights for trans people does not take away from the rights of anyone else. In particular, human rights for trans women do not diminish the rights of women who are not trans.
I am concerned that the Georgia Green Party recently endorsed a document titled the “Declaration on Women’s Sex-Based Rights,” which claims that the concept of gender identity is discriminatory against women. The Georgia party also appears to have adopted an amendment to its platform that says physicians should not treat youth who experience gender dysphoria.
I urge the Georgia Green Party to reconsider these positions. I urge them to listen to trans people and consider the positions of Greens in the US and Europe and the broader movement for trans rights who all say unequivocally that trans rights are human rights, and that medical care for gender dysphoria should be a personal matter between trans patients and their doctors.
Howie Hawkins