When Kathie Moehlig's 11-year-old son decided to transition in 2012, she says no doctor in San Diego was willing to treat him. “When I called to make an appointment, they said, 'We don't treat kids like that here,'” Moehlig said. But she kept making calls, eventually making her way into Rady Children's Hospital. Her efforts caught the attention of other families of transgender children, many of whom began asking her for help. Moehlig decided she "couldn't just be a friend of the family," so eight years ago she founded Transfamily Support Services , a nonprofit organization that provides help to hundreds of families across the country, including people transgender. The organization includes support groups, assistance in navigating the medical system, and more recently, political advocacy. TransFamily Support Services is now a co-sponsor of Senate Bill 107 . If passed, it would protect patients who travel to California for 'gender-sustainable' care and the doctors who provide that care from prosecution. On Monday, the Assembly gave its final approval to the bill in a vote of 48-16. If the Senate agrees in a concurrency vote expected today, the bill heads to Gov. Gavin Newsom. If signed, the bill would make California a haven for minors seeking gender sustainability care . This proposal is similar to Assembly Bill 1666 , which Newsom signed into law in June and made the state a haven for those seeking abortions. “It will send a very clear message that trans kids and their families, if they don't feel safe in their state, they can come here and we will do everything in our power to protect them from prosecution,” state Sen. Scott Wiener told CalMatters. , Democrat from San Francisco and author of the bill.

a national wave

The bill, perhaps the most high-profile of several LGBTQ-related proposals already on Newsom's desk, responds to a recent wave of legislation: At least 40 bills in 20 states would enforce access to health care from gender sustainability for transgender youth. These proposals range from an Idaho bill to criminalize gender-sustaining medical procedures , to a Florida law that prohibits health insurance from covering expenses . In Texas, social workers are reportedly rioting and threatening to quit, rather than comply with an order by Governor Greg Abbott to investigate parents who allow transgender health care. Proponents of the bill say it is California's responsibility to intervene. “There are efforts across the country to go after trans children and their families. California must play an important role in providing a safe and nurturing environment for trans children and their families to get the care they need,” said Samuel Garrett-Pate, director of external affairs for Equality California, which supports the bill and says which is the largest LGBTQ civil rights group in the country. SB 107:

• Prohibit law enforcement involvement and the arrest or extradition of a person for allowing a person to receive or provide gender-based health care when that care is lawful under federal and California law.
• Declare arrest warrants for people who allowed their child to receive gender-sustainable health care as the lowest law enforcement priority.
• Prohibit enforcement of another state's law that authorizes a state agency to remove a child from his or her parents or guardians because they allowed their child to receive gender-sustaining care.
• Prohibit enforcement of court subpoenas requesting medical information related to gender-sustainable care that interferes with a person's right to allow a child to receive such care.

“As things stand, transgender youth and their parents in these states are under constant threat of exposure from anyone around them, while forgoing life-saving treatment,” said Assemblywoman Lori Wilson, a Democrat. from Suisun City and mother of a trans person. “In doing so, he is addressing our most vulnerable population, children, as well as their parents and doctors who support them.” No one spoke against the bill in the Assembly . 

Enemies raise concerns

Building on the national debate on transgender issues, the bill has generated intense opposition. Opponents say children often misunderstand their gender identity and are likely to regret their decision to undergo irreversible treatments such as hormone replacement therapy and gender-change surgery. “A lot of kids didn't fully understand the implications of taking puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and even some of the surgeries; not understanding the long-term nature and damaging effect it had on their bodies when they were minors," said Greg Burt, spokesman for the California Family Council . Burt cited Chloe Cole's Testimony before the Assembly Public Safety Committee on June 28. “SB 107 is circumventing state law and that has required safeguards so my history doesn't repeat itself. Children cannot consent,” added Cole, a 17-year-old from the Central Valley who medically transitioned from age 13 to 15 with puberty blockers, male hormones and a mastectomy. Because of this, Burt noted that the religious nonprofit "would be against any kind of drugs or surgeries to try to match a person's body to their feelings before the age of 18," regardless of consent. fathers. "We will not allow parents to sterilize their children, even if the parents consent, and we believe this is in the same category," Burt said. "You can't harm your child permanently, even if you think the harm is somehow justified." Opponents also highlight a clause in the bill that they say could strip custody rights from an out-of-state parent who disagrees with the other about their child's gender care. Erin Friday, a San Francisco attorney and mother of a child who once wanted to transition, explained that the clause "pits parents against parents" by allowing an out-of-state parent to reapply for full medical custody of their child in California and overshadow the consent of the parent who does not agree. “It makes it easier for the single parent who wants to harm their child to do so and it's a temptation for children to run away. There are no two ways to do it,” he added. Wiener's office denies that this is the intent of the bill. “The goal of the bill is not to take children out of their parents' custody, not when parents come here with their children to prevent states like Texas from taking custody of them,” he said.

Helping families, one at a time

As the political debate rages, Moehlig and his 10-person team improve their work, helping families across the country find the best doctor and obtain insurance coverage, and providing support groups for people from elementary school to the 30 years. She says her group has helped 3,000 families in her lifetime .

That work convinced her of the importance of the bill. He said it's "ridiculous" for politicians to claim they know better than parents of transgender children and their doctors about what medical care and treatment is best. As of now, all laws criminalizing long-term gender care in other states have been held up by legal challenges. However, Moehlig commented that it is only a matter of time before one of these proposals becomes law. And you're already seeing the impact: Moehlig said he has several clients who have moved to California because of out-of-state laws. One of his clients in Texas explained that his doctor canceled his surgery to change his intimate part from female to male because he no longer felt comfortable treating a young transgender man. "I think it's very important to protect the rights of these parents to make these medical decisions and get this treatment for these children without having to worry about any of the ramifications of prosecutions," Moehlig concluded. This article was originally published by CalMatters .