Biden executive order to crack down on 'conversion therapy,' accuse Republicans of seeking to 'bully kids'
President Biden's order seeks to expand access to gender transition surgery
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Biden will mark Pride Month by signing an executive order aimed at "advancing LGBTQI+ equality," senior administration officials said Wednesday.
Biden will sign the order at a White House event, during which he is expected to blast Republicans for alleged "bullying" of LGBT minors. Biden's order calls on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to ensure minors can receive gender transition surgeries, among other things.
Biden will also highlight the high rate of suicidal thoughts among LGBT people, going on to blame Republicans for the phenomenon.
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President Biden delivers remarks on the recent mass shootings from the White House on June 2, 2022. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Biden will "forcefully condemn the discriminatory attacks on LGBTQI+ children and families that are seeing all across the country," a senior administration official told Fox. "He will talk about how these bills are worsening the mental health crisis that LGBTQ youth are facing, putting them at greater risk of suicide."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"President Biden always stands up to bullies, and that's what these extreme MAGA laws and policies do. They bully kids," the official added.
The order also cracks down on "conversion therapy," calling on HHS to clarify that federally funded programs cannot endorse the practice.
A number of Republican states have passed legislation banning males who are transgender from competing in women's sports.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Alabama also began enforcing a ban on gender transition surgery and hormone blockers for minors in early May. Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has also indicated he supports banning transition surgeries for minors.
Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference June 8, 2022, in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
"I would ban the... Yeah, I would ban the sex-change... the operations," DeSantis said May 2. "I think that it's something that you can't get a tattoo if you're 12 years old. When they say gender-affirming care, what they mean a lot of times is you are really – you're castrating a young boy, you're sterilizing a young girl, you're doing mastectomies for these very young girls. And here's the thing, what our guidance pointed to, and the surgeon general did a great job, for these young kids, 80% of the cases resolve themselves as they grow up. And so you're doing things that are permanently altering them, and then they're not gonna be able to reverse that."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Alabama is the second state to attempt a ban on the use of puberty blockers and hormones on minors. The Arkansas legislature passed a similar law banning doctors from prescribing the drugs in March, but courts said it was overly broad and the state's Republican governor, Asa Hutchinson, vetoed it in early April.