A law quietly under consideration in the California statehouse would direct state-funded grants to clinics that in some cases could be distributing sterilizing hormones to children as young as 12 years old.
AB-2218, a bill passed by the California State Assembly in June and currently being reviewed by the state Senate, would establish a state-controlled "Transgender Wellness and Equity Fund" for the purpose of "funding grants, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to transgender-led ... organizations and hospitals, health care clinics, and other medical providers that provide gender-conforming health care services," according to the text of the law.
The legislation, titled the "Transgender Wellness and Equity Fund," claims that over 218,000 Californians identify as transgender; it also states that, in California, "27 percent, or 796,000, of youth 12 to 17, inclusive, years of age are viewed as gender nonconforming by their peers at school."
Along with numerous other provisions, the grants under the law would be distributed to a "hospital, health care clinic, or other medical provider that currently provides gender-affirming health care services, such as hormone therapy or gender reassignment surgery, to continue providing those services," as well as to "a hospital, health care clinic, or other medical provider that will establish a program that offers gender-affirming health care services and has an established relationship with a Trans-led organization that will lead in establishing the program."
The law as originally written had allocated $15,000,000 to the "equity fund"; at some point in its pass through the assembly, that provision was crossed out, ultimately leaving the total amount to be distributed at the discretion of the legislature itself.
Funding would be for 'all' transgender Californians, including children
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"This bill does not specifically focus on children nor are they the goal population of this bill," De La Cuadra said. "This bill is for ALL [transgender, gender non-conforming, and intersex] people, young people included."