White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre attacked state laws that seek to ban transgender procedures on children.
During a press conference on Thursday, Jean-Pierre said that laws in 14 states essentially strip parents of their right to “make the best healthcare decisions for their own kids.”
“With the enactment of a new law in Indiana, 14 states have now banned gender-affirming healthcare while some of these laws are currently blocked by courts,” she said. “This is a dangerous attack on the rights of parents to make the best healthcare decisions for their own kids.”
Citing statistics from the LGBTQ activist organization Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Jean-Pierre said that “more than 150,000 kids” live in states wherein they could lose “access to or are at-risk of losing access to gender-affirming care.”
“This is awful news, let’s be very clear about that,” she said. “LGBTQI+ kids are resilient, they are fierce, they fight back, they’re not going anywhere. We have their back. This administration has their back. We are so proud of the kids across this country who organized protests and school walkouts to tell the politicians in their states to stop this legislative bullying.”
Karine Jean-Pierre then advised for any LGBTQ kids to call a national crisis hotline if these legislative agendas take a toll on their mental health.
“I know that these political attacks can really take toll on people’s mental health, so I want to say directly to LGBTQI+ kids, you are loved just as you are. Just the way you are,” she said. “And if you’re feeling overwhelmed, you call 988. The National Crisis hotline and dial 3 to talk to a counselor who has been specifically trained to support LGBTQI+ kids. This is a new service the Biden administration is proud to offer during these incredibly hard times for these trans kids.”
As Breitbart News reported, the Biden administration’s Education Department is also moving to block schools that receive federal funding from “categorically” banning biological males from girls’ sports.
In its proposed rule, the Department of Education said it would “establish that policies violate Title IX when they categorically ban transgender students from participating on sports teams consistent with their gender identity just because of who they are.” However, the proposed rule also says that it will recognize “in some instances, particularly in competitive high school and college athletic environments, some schools may adopt policies that limit transgender students’ participation.”
The rules will also provide a framework for schools to develop criteria that protect transgender students from “being denied equal athletic opportunity, while giving schools the flexibility to develop their own participation policies.”
In a statement announcing the proposal, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said that every “student should be able to have the full experience of attending school in America, including participating in athletics, free from discrimination.”
“Under the proposed regulation, schools would not be permitted to adopt or apply a one-size-fits-all policy that categorically bans transgender students from participating on teams consistent with their gender identity,” the Education Department said.