This is the Year of Protecting Children

Two years ago, we witnessed an incredible moment: Arkansas became the first state to legally protect children from transgender interventions. It was the first Help Not Harm law, as we like to call them. We believe that hurting children deserve real help, not the irreversible harm of hormones and surgeries.

And last year, momentum built around this issue.

But the growth we have seen this year has been nothing short of explosive.

Just this month alone—Mississippi, Tennessee, Iowa, and Kentucky joined the list of states protecting minors. And, in Kentucky’s case, the legislature overrode their governor’s veto in order to make the protections law. Talk about commitment to protecting kids! (Kentucky’s not alone in this: the Arkansas legislature did the same in 2021.)

And in total, the numbers are incredible. Six states have laws protecting minors from both cross-sex hormones and mutilating surgeries (Arkansas, South Dakota, Mississippi, Tennessee, Iowa, and Kentucky). Two states have modified versions of the law in place (Arizona and Utah). Seven state legislatures are actively considering legislation to protect minors (Missouri, Nebraska, Texas, Wisconsin, Ohio, New Hampshire, and South Carolina). And in Indiana and Montana, bills sit on the governors’ desks awaiting their action.

Why all this action? Americans are waking up. They’ve heard the tragic stories of courageous detransitioners like Chloe Cole, who had a double mastectomy at age 15. They’ve learned about the alarming rise in teen girls identifying as male, and heard about the devastating harms of transition – harms that include sterilization, loss of healthy organs, and so much more.

Across the country, we’re saying together: enough is enough. No child should be told they are in the wrong body, sterilized, and left with the deep pain of regret.

Here at Family Policy Alliance, we’ve been working on this issue since 2017, when we drafted the first version of a Help Not Harm bill.

But none of this could have happened without you. Your support of Family Policy Alliance helps us provide critical behind-the-scenes support to legislators, our national allies, and to the alliance we host of 40 state family policy councils. Because of you, we can draft legislation and alert people like you when there’s a need to take action in your state. And because of you, kids around the nation are being protected from a lifetime of hurt and regret.

If you’d like to partner with us in this work, click here to make a one-time or recurring gift. Every amount, whether $500 or $50 or $25, makes a difference to protect kids and families around the nation.

Thank you for standing with us to protect children. Here’s to many more Help Not Harm victories!

Sincerely,

Meridian Baldacci

Director, Strategy

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