Wyoming Bill Could Take Trans Kids From Parents

[LostOne4Ever]

Wyoming Bill Could Take Trans Kids From Parents
House Bill 156 would define gender affirming care to be "not in the best interest" of youth in the state. The bill affects guardianships, custody fights, and child protective services.

ERIN REED
FEB 12, 2024

A new bill in Wyoming, House Bill 156, would declare that gender-affirming care is "not in the best interest" of transgender youth within the state. The bill would apply this presumption to custody battles, guardianships, and even the rules around Child Protective Services, raising real concerns that transgender youth could be removed from affirming parents who love them and follow best practice medical guidelines. The bill has 13 sponsors, including the House majority leader, making it a significant threat for passage in the state and appears influenced by a recent social media firestorm among the far-right over a transgender teen in Montana.

The bill specifies, "To the extent applicable, in determining the best interests of the child under state law, there shall be a conclusive presumption that it is not in the best interests of the child to undergo any gender transition or gender reassignment procedures as defined by W.S. 20-2-206(a)." The list includes puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgery. The bill then takes the standard, which automatically applies to all state law, and further amends sections on grandparent visitation, petitions for guardianship, custody battles, and Child Protective Services with the standard.

The effects of such a provision could be disastrous for transgender youth and their parents in the state. A non-affirming parent who divorces an affirming parent could use the provisions to take a transgender child in a custody battle over gender-affirming care. A grandparent or relative who does not approve of a transgender youth's gender transition could argue in court that the parents are not acting in the best interest of the child and are acting in a way that harms them, and instead, they should be appointed emergency guardians. Even worse, Child Protective Services could be weaponized against transgender youth in the state.

Although some Republicans and anti-trans organizations have considered gender-affirming care to be "child abuse," most states have steered clear of treating it as such, with Florida and Texas as major exceptions. In 2022, Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote a letter stating that gender-affirming care should be treated as child abuse. This kicked off a major effort across the state to investigate the parents of transgender youth and pull those youth aside for questioning by Department of Family and Protective Services investigators. Those efforts have since been blocked in court. In Florida, a bill passed in the state had similar provisions but only applied to the enforcement of child custody orders in disputes between parents.

More at link:
https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/wyoming-bill-could-take-trans-kids?utm_campaign=email-post&r=26hpd7&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Just when you thought the Republicans couldn’t get even more bigoted and evil.