Stop Harmful Anti-Trans Legislation

The Premier has indicated that the government is bringing forward legislation this fall that will remove the option to access numerous forms of affirming care for trans and gender diverse youth. This was signaled in a press conference with premier Danielle Smith on February 1, 2024, and has been reaffirmed by the Premier again recently. We believe that the legislation will be introduced in October.

Our goal is to stop this legislation from being introduced and passed so trans Albertans can avoid suffering the harm of being denied life-saving care.

This legislation threatens to restrict, ban or increase barriers to the access of gender-affirming care instead of trusting in the expertise of trans and gender diverse youth, their parents & caregivers, and their mental health and healthcare professionals to determine the best course of action for their care to maximize physical and mental wellbeing.

This legislation endangers vulnerable youth and sets a dangerous precedent for the government to dictate who is able to access the healthcare they need based on political agendas.

Much of the discussion online is driven by misinformation. Legislators must make decisions based on evidence and facts, not fear mongering and misinformation. If Alberta's MLAs look at the facts and the evidence, they will reject any legislation that restricts or bans gender-affirming care and leaves medical and mental health care to the patients and their families as supported and guided by trained professionals.

Gender affirming care includes a wide variety to services provided by professionals in the healthcare, mental health, as well as many other fields that support a person’s well being, that aim to improve an individual’s emotional, social and physical wellbeing through supporting more congruency between someone’s gender identity and their ability to outwardly embody who they truly are.

It is an essential part of validating and affirming someone’s gender identity and has been shown in extensive research to be one of the most significant factors in improving quality of life and acting as a resiliency factor against adverse mental health challenges that stem from societal invalidation, discrimination, and violence. 

No. The opposite, in fact.

Caregivers are also an essential part of their child’s care. Providing affirming care means a collaboration between healthcare professionals, family and the youth themselves to work together to create a one-fits-one care plan that is in the best interest of the youth’s weelbeing. By introducing legislation that would ban or restrict access to aspects of life-saving and highly-effective gender affirming care that are currently available to families, the Premier has deprived parents and families of crucial options and avenue essential to their child’s ability to flourish. 

Gender-affirming care is essential, life-saving healthcare supported by extensive scientific evidence.

The benefits, risks and side-effects of all these forms of care is well studied and proven to be overwhelmingly positive and effective with the rates of individuals experiencing any regret being a fraction what is is for other similar forms of medical care. By limiting access to these essential services, the legislation will seriously harm to those who rely on this care for their physical and mental well-being.

There is a lot of misinformation and fear-mongering being directed at the trans community right now fueling adversity. Despite all this the facts are clear:

• Gender affirming surgeries relating to primary reproductive organs (often called 'bottom surgeries') are not now and never have been actively performed on youth under 18, and community and advocates have not suggested it should be.
• Gender affirming chest surgeries on youth under 18 are exceedingly rare and only done in exceptional cases. So rare, in fact, that the same or similar types of surgeries are performed on cisgender youth for other reasons at rates many times over.
• Hormone therapy as well as puberty suppressing medications are only prescribed in youth after extensive consultation, typically involving at least a GP, endocrinologist and mental health professional and even then, the youth also needs enthusiastic parental support. This process and the wait list for it often takes years because of its rigor. 

Gender-affirming care is supported by a wide range of professional organizations, including the World Health Organization, the American Medical Association, the Canadian Medical Association, as well as every provincial medical association and over 100 other professional colleges, associations and organizations . These organizations, along with many healthcare professionals, recognize that gender-affirming care is a necessary and life-saving part of healthcare for many trans and gender-diverse individuals.

While the specifics of the legislation have not been fully disclosed, the Premier has suggested that it will significantly restrict or even ban certain types of gender-affirming care for trans and gender-diverse youth. She has stated it will include the restriction of some forms and banning of other forms of affirming health care including access to hormone therapies, puberty suppressing medications, and affirming surgeries. 

If this legislation is passed, it would, at best, create significant barriers, and at worst, completely remove access to necessary healthcare for trans and gender-diverse youth. Without the resiliency factors that timely access to competent affirming care provides, the evidence shows us we are likely to see a significant increase in mental health challenges, including depression, anxiety, self-harming behaviours and suicidality among those youth affected.

You can start by signing our online petition on this page and signing the physical paper petition too, these are both crucial steps in showing widespread opposition to the proposed legislation. Beyond that, you can spread the word by sharing the petition online and paper with friends, family, and on social media. Attending local events, writing to your MLA, and educating others about the importance of gender-affirming care are also powerful ways to contribute.