Proposed California Initiative Strips Parental Right to Obtain Affirming Care for Children

From Sacramento Bee

By Andrew Sheeler

SECRETARY OF STATE CLEARS WAY FOR ANTI-TRANS PROPOSED INITIATIVES

The California Secretary of State’s Office has cleared the way for proponents of three anti-transgender ballot initiatives to begin collecting signatures.  

Each of the three initiatives must have 546,651 valid California voter signatures collected by no later than April 29 order to qualify for the November 2024 general election ballot.

Proponent Jonathan Zachreson, of the group Protect Kids CA, said that a fourth measure that combines elements of the three initiatives, is currently under review by the state.

One proposal would force school employees to out transgender students to their parents, with no exception for the student’s safety or requests for confidentiality.

Surveys show that fewer than a third of transgender and nonbinary youths view their home as a safe and affirming place, and trans youths are more likely to be victims of abuse.

The initiative mirrors a bill introduced in the California Legislature earlier this year (killed without a hearing), as well as a wave of decisions from conservative-controlled school boards to enact such measures at the district level.

One such policy, at Chino Valley Unified School District, is currently on pause after a state judge issued a preliminary injunction against it last month.

Another proposed initiative would eliminate transgender students’ right to participate in school events consistent with their gender identity. Transgender females in grades 7 and up would be prohibited from participating in girls’ sports. Trans youths also would be barred from being able to use the bathroom or locker room matching their gender identity.

Though the groups supporting these initiatives label themselves as pro-child or pro-parental rights, the final initiative actually would strip away the rights of parents to seek gender-affirming medical care for their transgender children, even when that treatment is medically recommended for the minor’s physical or mental wellbeing.

The American Medical Association, American Psychological Association and American Academy of Pediatrics, as well as the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, all support gender-affirming medical care as something that improves quality of life for transgender youths.

Studies show that the “regret rate” for gender-affirming medical care is less than 1% for transmasculine surgeries and approximately 1% for transfeminine procedures, and that the “median decisional regret score” for trans people receiving a mastectomy as part of their gender-affirming care is “0 on a 100-point scale.”

Zachreson told The Bee that he recognizes that getting more than half a million signatures in six months’ time is no easy task. “The hard work is going to be to get on the ballot,” he said. He said that petitions would be circulated by a combination of volunteers and paid signature-gatherers, and that “we’re actively fundraising for that particular effort.”

Kristi Hirst, a California parent and former teacher who co-founded the group Our Schools USA to push back against anti-transgender policies in the state, told The Bee in a statement that “the people screaming for parental rights are seeking to take rights away from my kids while telling me how to raise them.” Hirst said that these proposed ballot initiatives “are further proof of a top-down ideological movement that’s been pushing these harmful policies at school boards and losing in court.”