(Letter to the Editor - Graphic Illustration/MetroCreativeConnection)

Earlier this month, transgender youth and their families got to let out a sigh of relief as it was announced that the Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act would not advance through the House of Representatives. Aiming to ban gender affirming care for trains youth, this bill did the one thing I hoped the Ohio Legislature knew better than to do — make trans youth the focal point of an identity-based policy war.

In his sponsor testimony, Rep. Gary Click happened to let it slip that this bill was written in coordination with the Center for Christian Virtue. For those who are unaware, CCV has previously been classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for their active stance against the LGBTQ plus community. In working with the CCV to bring this legislation to the docket, Rep. Click showed that he and his caucus were not afraid to endanger the lives of innocent children throughout the state.

Furthermore, hearings of the House Committee on Families, Aging, and Human Services showed that this bill wasn’t built on research and recommendation from medical professionals, but rather a false narrative that equates medical transition with experimentation. All major medical organizations endorse medical transitioning for trans youth when certain criteria are met. These criteria have been crafted from years of research from doctors throughout the world. Yet, one proponent compared the medical transition of trans youth to walking a child into a gas chamber.

Having been denied the right to medically transition until adulthood, I know first-hand what this would mean for trans youth. I will have to pay thousands of dollars to reverse the effects of male puberty, which I wouldn’t have to deal with had I been placed on puberty blockers at the beginning of my adolescence. Even more, I can promise the effects of forcing trans youth from their hormone treatments will be much worse than going on hormones in the first place.

As we look forward to the new year, I hope the Ohio Legislature looks deeply within themselves and makes sure they are okay with ruining people’s lives before introducing this bill in the new session. I’ve always thought the livelihood of adolescent Ohioans was more important than the financial gain of a hate group, and I would like to think our elected officials hold the same ideals.

Danielle Thrasher

Marietta