INTRO

Welcome to another edition of the Well Beings News roundup—your weekly dispatch of queer and trans health news, research, and resources, curated with care and clarity for the people providing it. 

Before we dive into this week's coverage, I want to highlight something exciting happening right now. I'm participating in the Back Indie Media Drive through Project C, running all month long. This initiative celebrates and supports independent journalism across every beat imaginable—from true crime to travel, local news to labor organizing. The premise is simple: choose ONE indie publisher to back with your dollars, because that's how we keep truly independent media alive and thriving.

If you're already here supporting Well Beings News, thank you for being part of this community. If you're not yet a paid subscriber, this is a perfect moment to consider upgrading—especially as we're seeing such targeted attacks on the very communities and healthcare practices we cover. Independent journalism like this becomes more crucial by the day.

NEWS

State and Federal Pressure

The Trump administration's systematic campaign against gender-affirming care continues to devastate as the University of Michigan suspended puberty blockers and hormone therapy for patients under 19 after receiving a DOJ subpoena threatening civil and criminal liability. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel criticized the decision as potentially illegal while joining a multistate lawsuit challenging the administration's tactics as unconstitutional.

Alaska's Medical Board unanimously moved to ban gender-affirming care for trans minors by reclassifying such treatments as "unprofessional conduct," with the proposal led by a podiatrist who lacks clinical expertise in treating gender dysphoria. Almost 800 medical professionals in the state have signed a petition protesting the restrictions, highlighting the disconnect between political appointees and the medical consensus.

Texas passed Senate Bill 8, requiring transgender individuals to use bathrooms corresponding to their birth sex in state facilities, marking a concerning trend we'll explore in depth when Well Beings News publishes comprehensive coverage of how bathroom bans function as a health issue in two weeks.

Education, “Experts” and Information

The administration is holding $81 million in sex education funding hostage by demanding 46 states remove references to "gender ideology" from federally-funded educational materials, potentially undermining comprehensive sex education and increasing STI rates among young people. Meanwhile, an administration official baselessly blamed hormone replacement therapy for a mass shooting in Minnesota, continuing the pattern of scapegoating transgender people for societal problems.

The anti-trans movement's strategy of elevating unqualified voices continues with James Cantor, a psychologist who has never treated a transgender child, testifying in dozens of cases while openly admitting he doesn't speak with trans people and has made approximately $150,000 annually from this work.

Digital misinformation and manipulation are compounding these attacks, as Google's search results consistently direct parents seeking LGBTQ+ support to conversion therapy websites run by far-right religious groups like Focus on the Family, exposing vulnerable families to harmful messaging disguised as legitimate resources.

In response to these coordinated, religiously-motivated attacks, 187 lawmakers filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to uphold conversion therapy bans in the Colorado case Chiles v. Salazar, with studies showing such practices more than double suicide attempt risks among LGBTQ+ youth.

International

Significant developments emerged globally this week, with a Kenyan transgender woman winning a landmark court case that ordered the government to recognize and protect transgender rights after she experienced inhumane treatment including forced medical examinations. 

The global impact of U.S. policy is being seen in South Africa, where a transgender health worker described devastating effects of aid cuts on HIV care in Johannesburg, where HIV prevalence among transgender women reaches 63% and patients fear seeking care at state clinics due to stigma and discrimination.

And in the UK, TransLucent received permission to intervene in an NHS tribunal case regarding workplace bathroom access, emphasizing that transgender people must be treated according to their affirmed gender under existing regulations.

Good Reads

Amid Federal Subpoenas and Funding Threats, Can Blue States Still Protect Trans Kids? - An analysis of how federal pressure is undermining state-level protections and whether legal challenges can hold the line against the administration's systematic campaign against trans youth.

Hormone Therapy and Fertility: the Science for Trans Women - A comprehensive look at how hormone replacement therapy affects fertility and reproduction—essential information for providers counseling trans women about transition decisions.

What Really Drives Transphobia: The Fears of the Fearful - An exploration of the psychological roots of transphobia, examining how fear of the unknown fuels collective mass hysteria against transgender people.

DIGEST

Last week at Well Beings News:

WHY UPGRADE

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

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