IACHR Warns Against Regressive Health Care Measures That Impact Trans, Intersex Youth in United States of America

WASHINGTON, May 26 -- The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, an autonomous organ of the Organization of American States, issued the following news release:

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) warned against the wave of laws and policies in the United States of America (USA) that seek to restrict access to healthcare for LGBTI people. The IACHR is particularly concerned about the differentiated impact of some of these laws on the rights of trans and intersex children and youth.

The IACHR noted that at least 30 states in the USA have passed laws and policies that restrict gender-affirming healthcare for trans youth. Among other things, these laws and policies restrict access to puberty-blocking medication and hormone therapies for trans individuals who request these treatments. Additionally, in the State of Missouri, restrictions also apply to gender-affirming treatments for adults.

The IACHR is also concerned about public reports that the State of Florida has approved a law that allows healthcare providers, including doctors and insurance companies, to refuse medical services based on religious beliefs. Human rights defenders working to protect the human rights of LGBTI people have pointed out that this law lacks provisions in cases where services are refused based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

The IACHR is also concerned about the impact that some of these measures have on the rights of intersex people. Civil society organizations have noted that while some states in the USA prohibit gender-affirming healthcare for trans individuals, a number of these legal schemes simultaneously include explicit exceptions allowing harmful nonemergent procedures to be performed on intersex children. These provisions aim to ensure that doctors who perform medical procedures that include irreversible surgery on intersex children are immune to prosecution, even when the person being treated has not consented to these procedures, thereby adding additional barriers that intersex people seeking justice must overcome.

In its report on Trans and Gender-Diverse Persons and Their Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights (2020), the IACHR stated that the right to health of trans and gender-diverse people is severely limited by the pathologization of their identities, as well as the high rates of violence and discrimination they experience when seeking medical care. The lack of access to gender-affirming healthcare has a severe impact on trans youth, who become aware of their gender identity at an early age. The IACHR has observed that it is not only their physical health that is affected by discrimination: their mental health is also impacted, leading to increased risk of isolation, depression, self-harm, and suicide.

With regard to intersex persons, in its report on Violence against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Persons in the Americas (2015), the IACHR warned against invasive medical treatments for purely cosmetic purposes that seek to "normalize" the diverse sex characteristics of intersex persons without their full, prior, and informed consent. The IACHR deems such treatments to be a form of medical violence based on prejudice against bodily diversity and the bodily integrity and personal autonomy of intersex people.

The IACHR once again noted that States must guarantee access to healthcare services for LGBTI people free from the fear of violence or discrimination. Furthermore, States should ensure that health protocols and services, including gender-affirming treatments, respect human rights and address individuals' specific needs.

The IACHR is a principal and autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), whose mandate stems from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has the mandate to promote the observance and defense of human rights in the region and acts as an advisory body to the OAS on the matter. The IACHR is made up of seven independent members who are elected by the OAS General Assembly in their personal capacity, and do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

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Original text here: https://www.oas.org/en/IACHR/jsForm/?File=/en/iachr/media_center/PReleases/2023/095.asp