Chris Christie opposes laws banning gender-affirming care for minors

Chris Christie has come out against laws banning gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth.

In a recent interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, the host questioned the former New Jersey governor and Republican presidential hopeful about the wave of current GOP-backed laws banning gender-affirming care for trans young people.

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Doctors double down on support for gender-affirming care for trans people

The esteemed organization of medical professionals chose science over politics.

“Republican governors across the country have been banning hormone therapy and puberty blockers for transgender people under 18 years old,” Tapper said, noting that Republican lawmakers have only banned such treatment for transgender youth and not for treating other conditions.

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“As governor of New Jersey, you signed into law legal protections for trans people, including students. What do you make of your fellow Republican governors and candidates going in the opposite direction?”

Interestingly, Christie used the same “parental rights” argument that many of his GOP colleagues have used to push their anti-LGBTQ+ agendas to make his case against such laws.

“What I believe we should be focused on most importantly in these issues is making sure there is parental involvement at every step along the way,” Christie said. “I don’t think that the government should ever be stepping into the place of the parents in helping to move their children through a process where those children are confused or concerned about their gender.”

“I just would say that parents are the people who are best positioned to make these judgments. So, what I’d like to make sure the state does is require that parents be involved in these decisions,” he continued. “Folks who are under the age of 18 should have parental support and guidance and love as they make all of the key decisions of their life, and this should not be one that’s excluded by the government in any way.”

Christie, who launched his campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination earlier this month, is the only candidate in the crowded GOP field to state his opposition to laws banning gender-affirming care for trans young people. Former President Donald Trump, the favorite to win his party’s nomination, has vowed to stop gender-affirming care for trans minors and punish doctors who provide that care.

Meanwhile, Ron DeSantis (R), widely seen as the only viable challenger to Trump, has made his position on transgender rights abundantly clear. The Florida governor recently signed a slate of anti-LGBTQ+ bills into law, including one that forbids minors from accessing puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy (HRT), and gender-affirming surgeries.