INTRO

Pride is a Protest

Stonewall was a riot. Be gay, do crimes! Never be quiet!

Pride Month has begun—and with it, another wave of legislative attacks, administrative threats, and healthcare funding cuts. But this week also brings reminders of why we keep showing up: essential research reinforcing the value of affirming care, and growing professional resistance. There’s still power in our voices. Let’s use them.

NEWS

The Time to Hesitate is Through

To start us off this week, on June 1, to kick of Pride month, I published an op-ed at KevinMD.com arguing that clinicians today have an ethical obligation to fight back against legislating threatening the healthcare and scientific inclusion of LGBTQ+ people.

I know the suggestions I make in that piece are easier said than done. That’s why I’m working on a follow-up piece about workplace organizing for medical professionals, about avoiding burnout, and about seeking support to see you through this fight. This is going to be a long war, not a single battle; we need to be resourced for the long game. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, take heart, because you are not alone. This week, with the backing of the Canadian Medical Association, three doctors filed a challenge in the Alberta Court of King’s Bench against legislation banning gender-affirming puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy for anyone under the age of 16, claiming the law is unconstitutional.

So Many Laws, So Little Time

Thankfully, Orion Rummler at The 19th has thoroughly documented exactly where state laws stand in 2025. In response to the overwhelming slew of new legislation, law-makers in states with strong shield laws like Massachusetts are being encouraged to update those protections for providers who might see patients traveling in from other states.

This seems especially pressing as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz (yes, that Dr. Oz) has sent letters to 30 US hospitals demanding data on the “quality standards” and financial data relating to “medical interventions for gender dysphoria in children.”

In response to these ongoing threats to withhold federal funding, some medical centers are already caving. Last Thursday, Penn Medicine confirmed to NBC that it was ceasing all gender-affirming surgical procedures to people under 19 years of age.

The writing is on the wall, folks. While on one hand the US administration claims that gender-affirming care “lacks robust evidence,” with the other hand they are clawing back funding for studies that would provide that evidence. This week the House GOP made moves to include language in the 2026 appropriations bill that would ban all federal funding for any biomedical studies examining the physiological impact of hormone therapy or other gender-affirming interventions using animal models.

All of this has led transgender activists to the devastating conclusion that all gender-affirming care is on the chopping block. Advocates expect that the appropriations bill will attempt to prevent any medical facility that receives federal funding from offering this life-saving care.

If you have found yourself wondering, “What would I do if the government told me I wasn’t allowed to save someone’s life?” The time to wonder is over. What you would do is what you’re doing now.

One Small Task

If you’re quite tired of feeling hopeless and helpless, here’s one very tiny thing you can do, before you dig into my op-ed to find some more robust action to take.

Monash University recently led a global initiative involving an international online survey of more than 7700 patients and health professionals, alongside in-person workshops, in both 2015 and 2023, seeking diverse perspectives on the clinical features and potential of renaming Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.

With a new survey, they are seeking feedback on a new name. As someone with PCOS, while I am not very invested in what the name is, I am quite invested in what it isn’t: the new name absolutely should not include the word “female” and you can make sure it doesn’t. Fill out the survey to give your opinion on what that new name should be.

GET IN ON THE ACTION

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Read More at Well Beings News

• 5 LGBTQ+ Resources Every Health Worker Should Bookmark

• Is Your Intake Form Sending the Wrong Message?

• The LGBTQ+ Health Data Gap is Widening

• Provider POV with Simon Wegman of Deep Well Psychology

COMING SOON

Stories for Premium Subscribers

This week:

• No Safe Space: disaster and displacement for LGBTQ+ communities

• Queer in Practice: practicing radical safety with Dr. Syd Young

Next week:

• Algorithms, Allies and Adversaries: on AI in the exam room

• Provider POV: Shelley Washington at Normal Anomaly wants,
  “Care for all, and care for everything”

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