Trump government shutdown: Trans people urge Democrats not to allow anti-trans measures to pass

Proposed legislation behind the impending US government shutdown contains provisions that would ban federal funding for transgender adults, as well as youngsters.

The bill has kept congress at a stand-still over the past few days after Democrats refused to provide the necessary votes for it to go through. Unless agreement is reached by 12.01am (Eastern) on Wednesday (1 October), sections of the government will be unable to function.

Donald Trump initially refused to meet with Democrats to avoid the shutdown, accusing minority leaders Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer of making “unserious and ridiculous demands”. The Republicans control both the senate and house of representatives.

In a post on Truth Social earlier this month, the president demanded that Democrats support provisions in an appropriations bill which would ban federal funding for any hospital or medical facility that provided gender-affirming care, including hormone replacement therapy (HRT), to a patient of any age.

If passed, the law would prohibit trans surgeries, strip [health insurance] Medicaid coverage from transgender people and ban Pride flags from public buildings, such as schools and universities.

While Trump has since agreed to meet with Democrats, trans men and women have urged them not to bow to any pressure from the president.

“These are not budgetary measures, they are ideological attacks”

One person on Reddit, whose post has gone viral, called on members of the public to “contact your senators and house reps asap”, urging them to protect “the rights and dignity of LGBTQ+ Americans”.

They went on to say: “These are not budgetary measures, they are ideological attacks [that] would erase protections, endanger lives and weaponise federal funding to coerce institutions into abandoning care. For many, access to HRT and affirming care is not optional, it’s life-saving.

“Democrats have the power to stop all this happening if they hold the line in the senate.”

In the face of threats from the Trump administration, several hospitals have already stopped provided gender-affirming care for LGBTQ+ youngsters.

Speaking ahead of the meeting with the Trump, senator Schumer told NBC that he was hopeful any shutdown could be avoided.

“If the president at this meeting is going to rant, and just yell at Democrats, and talk about all his alleged grievances, and say this, that and the other, we won’t get anything done,” he said. “We don’t want a shutdown. We hope they sit down and have a serious negotiation with us.”

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