NYCLU's Ronan Tuggle reports uptick in trans intakes and seeks amendments

Good afternoon all.

Thanks so much for the chairs and the committees for holding this hearing today and giving us an opportunity to testify.

My name is Ronan Tuggle.

I use they, them pronouns.

I'm the digital organizing strategist at the New York Civil Liberties Union, also known as NYCLU.

With the federal attacks on gender-affirming care and hospitals'recent capitulation, the night clue has seen a tremendous uptick in the number of intakes we receive from trans New Yorkers.

And disturbingly, we're also hearing anecdotally about an increase in suicides among trans people in the United States, which I know many folks have spoken to today.

The most common intake calls we field are from loving, supportive parents who are trying to figure out where they can access the health care their children rely on to thrive as their authentic selves.

Gender-affirming care is health care.

People seek it for all kinds of reasons, from precocious puberty to middle-aged hair loss to a diagnosis of gender dysphoria.

This care is necessary for people to live in their bodies with dignity and health.

When it comes to young people, every family should have the freedom to love and support their child, which includes the ability to make private medical decisions free from political interference.

New York City and state have a role to play in ensuring New York remains a place where trans people can thrive, and the legislation the committee considers today is an important part of that project.

The NYCLU strongly supports Resolution 5.

which supports the creation of a state-level gender-affirming care access program.

This program would greatly support trans New Yorkers'ability to continue to access the health care we rely upon to be ourselves and chart our own futures.

However, Resolution 547 includes a very narrow definition of gender-affirming care focusing entirely on medical care.

The resolution should be amended to reflect the state's definition of gender-affirming care, which also includes mental health care and other forms of affirming care, but also excludes non-consensual surgeries conducted on intersex young people.

The NYCLU also strongly supports Intro 949, although we do want to note some concerns around the MAP requirement, which could potentially put a target on the backs of gender-affirming care providers, especially in this political context.

The state-level hospital transparency bill, currently A10203, Rozek in the Assembly and S8965, Hinchey in the

Senate, could serve as a model for a city-level legislation and help prospective patients identify where to find other frequently denied types of health care, such as reproductive health care.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to provide testimony and for your focus on supporting trans folks and access to gender-affirming care today.

Thank you.

Thank you so much to all of you, and especially would love to have folks follow up on expanded definitions and other things to kind of strengthen the proposed legislation.

I appreciate that.

Everybody good?

Okay.

Thank you so much.