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I served five terms in the Texas House of Representatives working to protect freedom and opportunity for my constituents. I know what kinds of laws Texas families need—and what they don't. I was disappointed to see this year's legislative session derailed by a few politicians' bizarre fixation on children who are transgender.
Texas' new ban on health care for transgender youth—like similar bans across the country—gives politicians the power to overrule parents' decisions to obtain essential care for their kids, while also threatening health care professionals with criminal penalties for simply following well-established industry guidelines. These kinds of restrictions have spread across the country, thanks to model legislation from special interest groups that are taking advantage of confusion and misinformation to promote their own agenda.
Like many Americans, for a long time I didn't know what it meant for a kid to be transgender. But as I spoke with my constituents, I learned more about the experiences of families with transgender children. One mother I met described how she gave birth to identical twins she thought were boys, but one of the twins grew up to be a transgender girl. This transgender daughter was afraid to do something as simple as go to the bathroom at school because politicians were attacking transgender people's rights. Seeing the twins side by side, it became crystal clear that transgender children are just like their non-transgender siblings and peers—they just want to grow up safe, learn new things at school, and play with their friends. My job as a lawmaker was to listen to this family, and all my constituents, and represent their best interests—not bully them like my colleagues are doing now.
As I set out to educate myself further, I knew I needed to look to health care professionals and major medical organizations to understand what transgender kids need to be able to grow up healthy. These expert associations have established that gender-affirming care is medically necessary for transgender people. I learned that for transgender children, this care looks like mental health and social support, like letting a kid try out a new haircut or use a different name. Strong guidelines already exist to help doctors and families develop age-appropriate health plans for transgender kids. Politicians shouldn't pretend to know better than doctors, and at the end of the day, the government has no business interfering in families' personal health care decisions.
Laws that contradict existing medical guidance are not only pointless, but also dangerous to all families in Texas. For instance, political attacks in Texas are already prompting some health professionals to move to different states, leaving the rest of us with fewer qualified providers to turn to when our own families need care. Families are dealing with enough genuine concerns already, such as our failing foster care system, and the highest rate of uninsured folks in the nation.
We can't afford to waste more time and taxpayer dollars scaring away good doctors and punishing loving parents for how they choose to raise their own kids. We need to focus on making sure every family gets a fair chance at a healthy, happy life so they can contribute to society.
During my time as a state representative, I was proud to support bills protecting women's access to reproductive health care because I strongly believe in individual rights for Americans, especially their right to privacy in their personal lives and health care decisions.
The Republican Party that I believe in has always been the party of small government, individual liberties, privacy, and family freedom. It's time to redouble our commitment to these values. I urge more Republicans to join me in standing up for individual freedom, including freedom for families with transgender children.
We cannot allow extremist rhetoric to corrupt our values and turn us into a party that promotes government overreach and uses kids as political pawns. If we allow these efforts to continue, politicians are bound to identify even more methods to interfere in people's private lives.
Now more than ever we must fight back against extremism, and make sure the GOP is once again the party of small government and individual liberty.
Sarah Davis served as a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from 2011-2021.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
