30/03/2023
Statement by the SBA Executive Board
The Stonewall Bar Association of Georgia is proudly made up of LGBTQ+ and allied attorneys, judges, law students, paralegals and other legal professionals. SBA supports the rights of all transgender, non-binary, and gender-diverse Georgians.
Senate Bill 140, now signed into law by Governor Brian Kemp, restricts access to gender affirming care for gender diverse youth and criminalizes medical providers for providing medical care in line with established standards of care. As a result of this new law, Georgia’s transgender, non-binary, and gender expansive youth have lost access to affirming, evidence-based, and medically necessary healthcare at home in Georgia, and healthcare providers face potential criminal sanctions for providing such care.
According to data from The Trevor Project, year over year, transgender youth report significantly increased rates of depression, suicidality, and victimization compared to their cisgender peers. In 2022, nearly 1 in 5 transgender and nonbinary youth attempted su***de. LGBTQ+ youth who live in affirming communities report significantly lower rates of attempted su***de.
According to the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, research shows that gender-affirming care improves the mental health and overall well-being of transgender youth. In particular, access to pubertal suppression treatment (also known as “puberty blockers”) was associated with lower odds of lifetime suicidal thoughts among transgender adults. Similarly, the risk of su***de attempts is lower among transgender people who want and receive gender-affirming medical care. More generally, research indicates that efforts to support transgender youth to live according to their internal sense of gender is associated with better mental health and feelings of safety at school, while efforts to change the gender identity of transgender people (such as conversion therapy) are associated with risk of suicidal thoughts or intent.
SBA is a non-partisan organization, but it will always stand by its mission to oppose discrimination based upon sexual orientation or gender identity. SB 140 is a discriminatory law that unfairly singles out gender diverse youth and treats them differently based on who they are. This new law will inevitably harm Georgians rather than protect them. SBA strongly condemns the law and stands in solidarity with Georgia’s LGBTQ+ youth threatened by this law. March 31st is International Transgender Day of Visibility. SBA encourages its membership to stand with and beside transgender, non-binary, and gender-diverse Georgians and find ways to support them on this day and every other day.
More Resources:
https://www.cdc.gov/lgbthealth/youth.htm
https://www.thetrevorproject.org/
https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/
https://georgiaequality.org/
https://www.transhousingcoalition.org/
https://www.lnfy.org/
Signed, the Executive Committee of the Stonewall Bar Association of Georgia, Inc.
Austin Alexander, President
Ben Torres, President-Elect
Melissa Fox, Treasurer
Simon Jenner, Secretary
Nancy Goodman, Past President
