Colorado is part of a blue-state push to protect transgender care
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Colorado is one of a handful of blue states advancing more protections for transgender people amid a conservative backlash elsewhere against gender-affirming health care.
Why it matters: Much like on the issue of abortion, Colorado stands as a progressive counterpoint to Republican social causes in other states.
State of play: The latest effort on transgender care follows advice from leading medical associations that consider it medically necessary treatment in some cases and believe it helps reduce the likelihood of committing suicide.
- Democratic lawmakers in more than a dozen states, including here in Colorado as well as Washington, Oregon, Minnesota and Vermont, want to shield patients and providers.
The other side: A slew of Republican states are pushing to restrict access.
- More than 100 pieces of state legislation have been introduced nationwide to ban or restrict such health care for minors, according to data from the American Civil Liberties Union.
- Iowa, Kentucky and Georgia were among the latest GOP-controlled states to act this month, joining Utah, Mississippi, South Dakota and Tennessee in banning gender-affirming health care for transgender youth.
Zoom in: Colorado lawmakers are on the verge of sending Gov. Jared Polis a bill to protect those who receive and provide gender-affirming care, but only after tense and personal debate over the weekend.
- Republicans in the minority party called for bans on transgender care for children. But Rep. Brianna Titone, the chamber's only transgender lawmaker, castigated opponents for suggesting trans people can't be themselves.
Of note: A nonpartisan legal analysis found the legislation is possibly unconstitutional because it also provides reproductive care protections and violates the single-subject rule.
- Democrats dismissed the concern but Republicans highlighted it as a reason it shouldn't pass.