Missouri has passed a bill that prevents gender affirming care to anyone under 18. According to this new bill, it will establish the “Missouri Save Adolescents from Experimentation” (SAFE) Act. This act will revoke the health care provider’s license from any medical professional who administers or provides gender affirming care to minors. This includes administering cross-sex hormones, puberty-blocking drugs, or gender transition surgery to minors who have not already begun said process as of Aug 28, 2023. These provisions will expire on Aug 28, 2027. 

“I am an educator first, I try not to deal with politics,” said Dr. Nelson when asked how he feels about this law. Many of the teachers and administrators within our education system try to stay out of politics. Some may argue that this is a good thing and that they should leave governing and politics to the “professionals.” However, others will say that anyone who is anyone should be involved because it is the people who give the government power in the first place. 

“I haven’t heard about this bill,” said sophomore MJ Akers. Akers and many people who aren’t directly affected by this bill haven’t even heard of this bill before. A lot of issues that directly affect LGBTQ+ people go unnoticed by the vast population of people. “I have friends in high school who are trans and I feel like they’re old enough to make those decisions for themselves,” Akers said. 

Transgender people exist. They are people and human beings just like anyone else. The hate and distaste for the LGBTQIA+ community has been growing in this country. The physical, mental, and political attacks against this group continue to gain more and more people through many ways. Transphobia cannot be linked to a beginning, but we can see why it is here.

Transgender people suffer from gender dysphoria, a sense of sickness/discomfort with the way they look. And this goes way beyond just “not liking” the way they look, It is cognitive dissonance between the mind and the body. This could be triggered by specific body parts, hair, facial structure, and much more.

One of the methods of combating this is by using puberty blockers for young trans people. Puberty blockers have been used to help control adolescent growth. Some people develop much too fast and can cause issues, so puberty blockers help to control the growth some. With any drug, there are side effects. However the puberty blockers negative side effects are minimal compared to the positive ones. “Puberty suppression is often described in the literature as reversible; that is, if the young person discontinues puberty blockers, they will recommence the puberty consistent with the sex assigned to them at birth,” according to the National Library of Medicine.

The physical appearance is changed temporarily, which relieves the individual from their gender dysphoria to some extent. According to the National Library of Medicine, 82% of trans teens have thought about ending their lives and 40% have actually attempted it. The gender dysphoria experienced by trans people is completely devastating, and causes severe effects on the individual.

All of the internal struggles faced by trans people are very difficult, but there’s also the external issues they have to face. The hate and distaste for the LGBTQIA+ community has been growing in this country. And everything being said and being done is being seen by the community. They are being brought to a point of killing themselves, and no one should have to deal with that.