Although Washington is generally considered a safe state for the LGBTQ+ community, on Dec. 11, state Rep. Cyndy Jacobsen (R-25) prefiled House Bill 1038, which would prohibit the use of puberty blockers, hormone therapies, and gender transition surgeries on minors.

If passed, healthcare providers would not be able to provide gender-affirming care to minors, including the administration of hormones like testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone.

"Our youth can read the writing on the walls — they know that anti-Trans legislation aims to legislate them out of existence," Kai Aprill-Tomlin, communications manager for Gender Justice League (GJL), told the SGN. "It's almost impossible to articulate the horrific impact on your mental health of seeing politicians across the nation attack your right to healthcare — in essence, attacking your right to live."

HB 1038 has several exemptions, such as for the treatment of infections, injuries, diseases, or disorders caused or intensified by gender-transition procedures. Services provided to intersex minors are also spared, as are those "provided to taper a minor off of any puberty-blocking medications or other hormones," according to the bill text.

If minors suffer from physical disorders, injuries, or illnesses that would put them in immediate danger of a major bodily function impairment or death, then treatment could be conducted. If a physician determines, through biochemical or genetic testing, that a minor is without "normal sex chromosome structure," according to the bill text, then treatment would be permitted.

Rep. Jacobsen did not respond to the SGN's numerous requests for comment.

Effect of anti-Trans legislation

"Our legislature has supported fact-based, best medical practices for years. I do not see that changing. They rely on medical experts who are educated and trained in caring for this population. Terrorizing young people and their families should not be the business of any policymaker," Lisa Keating, executive director of the Washington State LGBTQ Commission, told the SGN.

Aprill-Tomlin said the GJL does not expect HB 1038 to receive a hearing. In the 2024 legislative session, Rep. Jacobsen cosponsored HB 1223, which would have removed Trans men from men's prisons and Trans women from women's prisons if they committed a sexual offense against a person of the same gender. That bill did not receive a hearing.

But, he added, "introducing anti-Trans bills, even if they don't get a hearing, has a significant impact on Trans youth. There is a well-documented relationship between increased suicide attempts and violence against our communities following the introduction of anti-Trans legislation."

Following Election Day this year, crisis calls to the Trevor Project — a suicide prevention and crisis support organization for LGBTQ+ youth — spiked by 700% due to fear, confusion, and anxiety about the results, according to the organization.

An ACLU research brief titled "The Impacts of Anti-Transgender Laws and Policies" states that in the past year, a record-breaking number of anti-Trans state and federal bills were introduced.

According to the report, "research also points to a growing fear, lack of safety, and increase in anti-LGBTQ+ violence as a result of these laws. Trend analysis of FBI crime data and social media harassment indicate an uptick in violence against LGBTQ+ people following anti-Transgender legislation, which is substantiated by firsthand reports from youth, caregivers, and medical providers."

Keating mentioned how this type of legislation singles people out and implies that they are less than.
"Trans and Nonbinary youth [deserve] to thrive without persecution, same as their cisgender peers," she said. "History has shown that the State of Washington values the lives of LGBTQIA2S people of all ages. At the Washington State LGBTQ Commission, we are focused on continuing to improve the lives of the people we serve."

Aprill-Tomlin suggests that those who feel strongly about HB 1038 to write to the health committee chair, Rep. Marcus Riccelli (https://housedemocrats.wa.gov/riccelli/contact), and encourage him to not hold a hearing on this bill.