The Monday Roundup | September 29, 2025

INTRO

First this week, some news from yours truly! I'm starting a new research project, and I wanted to let you know about it first.

Over the next few months, I'll be conducting structured interviews and surveys with 50+ queer and trans people with recent experiences receiving health or wellness care, and 50+ health and wellness professionals, to map where care breaks down and what we need from each other.

I'll be asking patients: Where does healthcare fail you? What do providers need to understand about your identity and lived experience? What does truly affirming care look like—in language, consent practices, documentation, and follow-through? What tools would help you navigate systems and advocate for yourself?

I'll be asking providers: What do you need to deliver better LGBTQ+ care—clinical protocols, screening guides, case studies, CME content? What formats work best for your workflow? What barriers prevent implementation? How can health journalists better serve you? What topics matter most?

The goal: Map the misalignments between patient needs and provider tools, then produce actionable fixes—clinical guidance, communication practices, organizational policies, toolkits and templates that work in the real world.

What this will produce:

• Practical guidance for clinicians and wellness professionals

• Advocacy tools for patients and clients navigating care systems

• A series of articles for this newsletter based on the findings

• For paid subscribers: a comprehensive, shareable report you can use and bring to your organizations

If you or your organization might be interested in participating in this research, I'd love to hear from you. Just reply to this email or reach out at [email protected]. And if you think colleagues or friends would benefit from this work, please forward this along.

This work takes resources. If what Well Beings News provides—the weekly roundups, original reporting, expert interviews, and now this research—is valuable to you, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription. Your support funds the time for research, expert interviews, data analysis, and the ability to publish findings that expand access to affirming, evidence-based care.

One more note: You'll receive one final email from me this month as part of the Back Indie Media subscriber drive, this one detailing what it actually costs to produce this newsletter and conduct this research. I believe in transparency about what your support enables, and I want you to see exactly where it goes.

Now, on to this week's news.

NEWS

Surveillance, Coercion, and State-Level Attacks

This week brought escalating federal attacks—labeling trans acceptance as terrorism, threatening government shutdown over trans healthcare bans—alongside significant state-level restrictions. Trump's National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 identifies support for "gender ideology" as a terrorism indicator, directing FBI task forces to investigate before any violent acts occur. Republicans are threatening government shutdown unless Democrats agree to ban federal funding for all gender-affirming care, including for adults, which would strip Medicaid and Medicare coverage.

Sixteen states and D.C. sued HHS after threats to pull sexual education funding for curricula mentioning gender diversity. The DOJ subpoenaed patient records from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, which families are fighting as a privacy violation.

At the state level, Texas Governor Abbott signed the nation's most punitive bathroom bill, imposing $25,000 fines for initial violations and $125,000 for subsequent ones at government buildings and schools. Transgender ICE detainees in Louisiana alleged forced labor, harassment, and denial of medical care in a formal complaint, with one detainee describing being told "if you wanna be a man, I'll treat you like a man" while forced into manual labor for minimal or no pay.

Bans Remain Unpopular, Resistance Grows

Despite political attacks, new polling shows 52% of Americans oppose bans on gender-affirming care for minors (72% of LGBTQ+ people), and 64% say politicians don't know enough about trans care to legislate it. The data directly contradicts claims that these restrictions reflect popular will.

Lakewood, Ohio passed a "Gender Freedom Policy" prohibiting city resources from being used to detain those seeking or providing gender-affirming care. Five transgender youth filed discrimination complaints against UPMC Children's Hospital for halting their care while continuing identical treatments for cisgender youth. A transgender child's family is suing Baylor College of Medicine for $250,000 after a former resident leaked medical records to a conservative activist.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith falsely claimed puberty blockers permanently sterilize children, prompting the Alberta Medical Association to correct her: "That is not true." The medications temporarily pause biological changes and have been used for decades, with people who've taken them going on to have children.

The Sapporo Family Court ruled unconstitutional Japan's requirement that transgender people undergo hormone therapy or surgery to alter genital appearance for legal gender recognition. The September 24 ruling builds on a 2023 Supreme Court decision striking down the country's sterilization requirement.

GOOD READS

• Trans health care "skeptics" lost a key ally—now they're having a meltdown — Gordon Guyatt, a prominent figure in evidence-based medicine, distanced himself from the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine in August, asserting that their misrepresentation of his work contributes to denial of gender-affirming care. Guyatt emphasizes patient autonomy and evidence-informed approaches, urging that denying care based on low-quality evidence causes unnecessary harm.
  

• TWIBS: Don't Believe Jesse Singal's Lies — A recent study shows that 82% of trans youth maintained their gender identity, and the vast majority of those that change tend to move between binary and nonbinary trans identities. Jesse Singal predictably misrepresented the data. This piece critiques Singal's biased reporting and combats common “concerns” about trans care.
  

• We Need to Talk about Sex, Orgasms, and Feminizing HRT — A candid discussion of sexual experiences and changes during feminizing hormone replacement therapy, covering bodily changes, masturbation techniques, shifting orgasms, and impacts on sexuality—emphasizing the importance of open conversation to help others feel less isolated.
  

• Who Gave Cis People Their Gender Identities? — Alexander Petrovnia discusses how rigid gender roles create trauma and abuse for both cisgender and transgender people, arguing for reframing identity beyond gender binaries. Liberation from enforced identities benefits everyone, linking curiosity and fluidity in gender roles to improved health outcomes for marginalized groups.
  

• Poisoning the Well: Adults Teaching Kids Anti-Trans Fear — Children repeating anti-trans rhetoric are not speaking for themselves—they are echoing the words of adults, parents, and media figures who have already poisoned their understanding. This piece examines how kids are being used as political weapons in lawsuits, sports disputes, and street protests, the toll it takes on transgender youth, and how we can break the cycle.
  

• The Right Wants to Exterminate Trans People. Liberals Are Helping — After the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the conservative movement has accelerated its war against trans people—and too many centrist Democrats have kept pace.

RESEARCH

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