Transgender health care becomes flash point in debate about Pennsylvania anti-discrimination bill
A day after a Pennsylvania House of Representatives committee voted to advance anti-discrimination protections for sexual orientation and gender identity, Democratic state Rep. Emily Kinkead drew the attention of a conservative media outlet for comments she made shortly before the vote.
The Daily Caller reported Tuesday that Kinkead said physicians should be held “accountable” if they deny gender-affirming treatment to transgender people. The Pittsburgh-area lawmaker also indicated that transgender women should have access to shelters for women who experience intimate partner violence.
Critics have argued that the anti-discrimination bill pending before the state House, HB 300, could penalize individuals who object to transgender medical procedures. But Kinkead dismissed that idea, noting that the measure would not enact mandates for medical care. She said the Daily Caller’s focus on her remarks represents a misleading attempt to stymie the legislation altogether.
“Fundamentally, they can't have a reasonable conversation about what this bill is actually about, which is preventing discrimination in daily life against people who are LGBTQIA+,” Kinkead said of the legislation’s opponents.
“I took the bait of what they have been trying to do this entire time,” she acknowledged, “which is to mischaracterize HB 300 as something that's going to actively and affirmatively require doctors to provide a specific kind of care. It plays into their narrative … that [the bill is] going to criminalize doctors.”
https://www.wesa.fm/politics-government/2023-04-26/transgender-health-care-pa-bill
