New York is latest 'safe haven' for gender-affirming care
New York on Sunday became the latest in a growing list of states to pass legislation protecting access to gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors as more than a dozen other state governments have moved to ban treatments including puberty blockers and hormone therapy.
New York’s new “safe haven” law bars state courts from enforcing the laws of other states that authorize a minor to be removed from their home if their parents or legal guardians allow them to receive gender-affirming health care.
The measure, which took effect immediately after it was signed Sunday by Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, additionally prevents state law enforcement from cooperating with out-of-state agencies regarding “the provision of lawful gender-affirming care” in New York.
The law also prohibits New York courts from considering gender-affirming care for minors as child abuse, “unless such conduct would constitute abuse under the laws of this state.”
“As other states target LGBTQ+ people with bigotry and fear mongering, New York is fighting back,” Hochul said Sunday in a news release. “These new laws will enshrine our state as a beacon of hope, a safe haven for trans youth and their families, and ensure we continue to lead the nation on LGBTQ+ rights."
Including New York, at least a dozen states and Washington, D.C., have enacted “shield laws” that protect access to gender-affirming health care for transgender minors, their families and their doctors. Meanwhile, 20 states have passed legislation that bans or heavily restricts transgender health care, including 17 that have done so this year.
In five states — Alabama, Idaho, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Florida — it is a felony to administer gender-affirming medical care to a minor. The Alabama and Florida laws are blocked by court orders. In May, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond (R) signed a binding agreement not to enforce the state's ban, pending further legal challenges.
A federal judge this month struck down Arkansas’s ban on gender-affirming health care for transgender minors, the nation’s first such measure.