On April 6, the Arkansas state legislature overrode the governor’s veto to pass the SAFE Act—Saving Adolescents From Experimentation.

The law outlaws access to gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth by labeling perfectly safe, common, and lifesaving treatment as “experimentation.”

All of us who work to support transgender children and their parents are appalled and heartbroken.

This is not the first inhumane law to be passed severely limiting the rights of transgender people and it won’t be the last. But through years of doing this work, I’ve realized that the only thing that makes these obstacles to progress any easier to navigate is knowing that I am not alone.

So I gathered some of my fellow warriors for an emergency conversation about how we can show up for the kids, families, nurses, social workers, and doctors in Arkansas.

We also have those of you in Texas and North Carolina being threatened with similar legislation on our minds and in our hearts, too.

Listen to hear reactions and reflections from social workers Jess Guerriero and Clancy Roberts, and endocrinologists Karin Selva and Kara Connelly.

In this fight—and in this grief—they're great company.

Resources:



• ACLU - Transgender People and Health Care
• HB 1570 - SAFE Act
• Arkansas on the Ground Resources:
• ID Arkansas
• Transgender Map - Arkansas Resources
• THEM. Articles
• 45,000 Youth Could Lose Gender-Affirming Healthcare if Anti-Trans Bills Pass
• Meet the Transgender Activists Fighting Arkansas’ All-Out War on Trans People
• Camp Wild Heart Ep 11: Navigating the Rapids of Puberty Suppression with Dr. Karin Selva