is difficult enough. So now let's take away their healthcare!!!

WTF! Really? Do these people sit around trying to find new way to be cruel, or what?

Just to see who they can hurt today and every tomorrow!

Cruel is the point.

It bans puberty blockers, hormones and reassignment treatments for kids under 16. The theory being that adults shouldn't perform permanent life-altering procedures on kids before they are old enough to understand the true consequences of what they are doing and be reasonably sure that it is what they want.

It's a thorny issue. I've heard more than a few fairly liberal friends tell me that while they support trans rights, they think it's crazy for parents and doctors to medically transition kids.

legislation that would criminalize doctors for providing medically necessary care for transgender youth, some South Dakota legislators continue their attempts to codify discrimination against trans kids.

The ACLU of South Dakota opposes Senate Bill 88 and Senate Bill 93.

Senate Bill 88 would mandate that school counselors, school psychologists or social workers disclose to a parent any young person’s identification as transgender, exploration of gender identity or reference to potential symptoms of gender dysphoria. This bill could result in forced disclosure of someone’s trans or questioning status to a non-affirming parent which could result in the young person becoming homeless or physically harmed.”

“When transgender youth face discrimination and victimization at school, it can often lead to serious negative health and mental health consequences,” said Libby Skarin, policy director for the ACLU of South Dakota. “Senate Bill 88 infringes on the rights of privacy of youth and deters young people from seeking support from trusted adults in positions to counsel them.”

Senate Bill 93 would give a parent the right to refuse to consent to a range of health care treatment options, including mental health treatment, for transgender young people. Parents, however, already have broad constitutional and common law powers to make decisions about medical treatment for minor children in their care and custody that cannot be limited by legislation.

“Transgender youth are among society’s most at-risk populations,” Skarin said. “Senate Bill 93 just amounts to a proclamation of government disapproval of transgender young people and contributes to the already dangerous rates of family rejection for transgender youth.”

Like House Bill 1057, Senate Bill 88 and Senate Bill 93 would hurt transgender youth, violate federal law and expose South Dakota to legal liability. The ACLU of South Dakota is committed to ensuring that transgender South Dakotans can live openly without discrimination remains strong and urges South Dakota lawmakers to stop hurting transgender youth.

“It's time to stop these attacks on transgender youth and focus on issues that really matter to the people of South Dakota,” Skarin said.

https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/aclu-south-dakota-urges-lawmakers-stop-hurting-transgender-youth

Not going to comment on the first bill because I don't know anything about it. The second bill, which I assumed the tweet was about, is opposed by the ACLU because

regarding transgenders?

harm their kids.

It is definitely *not* an established fact that medically transitioning young kids is not harmful, or at least not highly risky.

A state that already discriminates against them in every other area?

The entire point of modern medical regulation is to protect patients from irresponsible treatment and/or unkown risks.

Imagine if parents came to a doctor with a child who had diarrhea and asked the doctor to cure her by removing her colon. The risks and potential for permanent harm to the child would far outweigh the alleged curative value of the procedure. No one asks "Well who gets to make that choice?" in a situation like that.

This is a thorny issu which is why the GOP are exploiting it. It is definitely not clear-cut that parents should have the right to block their children from entering puberty and permanently alter their sex characteristics.

Exodus - Positions Against "Reparative Therapy" and the Ex-Gay Movement
https://www.aclu.org/other/exodus-positions-against-reparative-therapy-and-ex-gay-movement

Banned in many states. https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/conversion_therapy


( excerpt ) Prepubescent kids don't take hormones, and minors never get genital surgery.

A lot of scaremongering about health care for trans kids falsely suggests that doctors push kids into making permanent changes to their bodies. Every pediatrician who spoke with Live Science for this story emphasized that this isn't true and that they don't know of any doctors who would do that.

Kids who haven't yet reached the stage of puberty in which physical changes begin don't receive medication of any kind, Cronyn said. For kids who want them, those treatments don't begin until puberty begins in earnest. And the first stage of treatment isn't hormones. Instead, doctors prescribe kids puberty blockers, which can safely put those changes on "pause." That's the standard of care endorsed by both the Pediatric Endocrine Society (PES) and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). (A representative for the American Academy of Pediatrics told Live Science that it has an official policy statement on the subject in the works, which it will publish later this year.)


There is some limited evidence that puberty blockers can impact height and bone density, but Cronyn said those risks are low enough that he's never encountered issues in his practice. More recent research has cast doubt on the idea of bone density issues.

In his clinic, Cronyn said, no child ever receives any medication related to transitioning unless they've been demonstrably "insistent, consistent and persistent" about their gender for at least six months. (Again, this in keeping with PES and WPATH guidelines.)

https://www.livescience.com/62893-transgender-kids-puberty-blockers-hrt-hormones.html

Trans activists and the ACLU are on precisely the wrong side of the issue here. LGB activists spent decades trying to prevent parents from being able subject their kids to potentially harmful treatments based on culturally-influenced views.

Now the push is for the exact opposite.

and using minors as a wedge for attack on all transgender rights.

Link to tweet