Grammy-Winning Queen Lizzo is disheartened by her home state Texas, which has unleashed a violent attack against access to abortion, and against transgender youth’s access to gender-affirming healthcare, by labeling the lifesaving care as child “abuse”.

“They’re taking away the right for young children to have a chance to live authentically as themselves… It’s a violation of human rights. Trans rights are human rights,” Lizzo said in a keynote address at Southwest festival in Austin.

In the past month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton have been attempting to criminalize lifesaving healthcare for transgender and nonbinary youth by labeling it as child “abuse”, following a harmful interpretation of state law that systemically medicalizes transness in Texas.

Paxton and Abbott have released formal opinions recommending that gender-affirming healthcare constitutes as “child abuse” and that the state must “investigate” parents and healthcare providers who affirm a trans child’s gender.

Now parents who love and support their trans children, are getting calls from Child Protective Services, with the imposed fear that authorities could show up at their home to split their family apart – criminalizing parents and harming children.

“My mom’s been with me my whole life. I wouldn’t have made it without her.”
Kai Shappley, an 11 year-old-trans activist directly affected by this attack said in a video by VICE.

Watch the full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euTsHmasdsA

Read more stories by trans folks on how gender-affirming care has been lifesaving: https://bit.ly/33K8DK9