Transgender families press education secretary on rights

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos watched a transgender girl eat apple sauce and draw and listened to another student’s emotional story of feeling marginalized at school, as activists pressed DeVos to make good on her promise to protect all students. Parents and activists who met with DeVos on Wednesday said they thought she was moved by their stories, but they still left with little hope that she would be a strong advocate for transgender children.

Transgender: What does it mean? After Trump rolls back protections, an explainer

Transgender: What does it mean? After Trump rolls back protections, an explainer People are much more familiar with the concept of sexual orientation but much less familiar with transgender identity. Check out this story on scsun-news.com: http://usat.ly/2lzzj5x The Trump administration has issued new guidance outlining which restrooms transgender students can use, effectively lifting previous guidelines put in place by the Obama administration.

Chicago’s surgery museum plans sex reassignment exhibit

A Chicago museum chronicling the history of surgery through medical artifacts, paintings and sculptures is planning to open an exhibit later this year on sex-reassignment procedures. Curators at the International Museum of Surgical Science said the issue has become more prominent in social, cultural and political conversations and the museum hopes to contribute to the discussion in medical and surgical terms.

Chicago’s surgery museum plans sex reassignment exhibit

A Chicago museum chronicling the history of surgery through medical artifacts, paintings and sculptures is planning to open an exhibit later this year on sex-reassignment procedures. Curators at the International Museum of Surgical Science said the issue has become more prominent in social, cultural and political conversations and the museum hopes to contribute to the discussion in medical and surgical terms, according to the Chicago Sun-Times .

Is Vaping the Best Way to Stop LGBT Smoking?

Conversations about improving LGBT health are dominated by three topics: reducing HIV, improving mental health, and ending the epidemic of suicide in our community. But there is another issue facing LGBT people, and it demands to be addressed: smoking.

Texas mayor announces she is transgender

The mayor of a 600-person town 40 miles north of Dallas greeted constituents Tuesday night as a woman, having revealed she is transgender days earlier in a post on the town’s website. Jess Herbst, the mayor of New Hope, Texas, became the first openly transgender public official in the state with her Jan. 23 announcement, explaining her life and inviting residents to come speak with her at Tuesday night’s town council meeting.

After a rough 2016, fresh start welcome

… a painting of the 1864 Siege of Atlanta was banned from display at the Fresno County fair. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services churned out a 25-page policy statement about “the systematic inclusion of families in activities and programs …

After a rough 2016, fresh start welcome

… a painting of the 1864 Siege of Atlanta was banned from display at the Fresno County fair. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services churned out a 25-page policy statement about “the systematic inclusion of families in activities and programs …

In Religious Freedom Victory Federal Court Blocks Obama Abortion, Transgender Regulations

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas Judge Reed O’Connor issued a preliminary injunction Saturday, blocking the federal government from enforcing an Obama administration regulation which”forbids discriminating on the basis of ‘gender identity’ and ‘termination of pregnancy'” under Obamacare. The regulation would have taken effect on January 1. The Plaintiffs claimed the regulation’s interpretation of sex discrimination pressures doctors to deliver healthcare in a manner that violates their religious freedom, thwarts their independent medical judgment and will require burdensome changes to their health insurance plans on January 1, 2017.

Texas judge halts federal transgender health protections

A federal judge in Texas on Saturday ordered a halt to another Obama administration effort to strengthen transgender rights, this time over health rules that social conservatives say could force doctors to violate their religious beliefs. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor granted a temporary injunction stopping federal health officials from enforcing rules that are intended to ban discrimination by doctors and hospitals against transgender persons.

Judge blocks Obama’s transgender mandate

A Texas judge has temporarily blocked the Obama administration’s new requirements for transgender care, granting a preliminary injunction Saturday to several states and religious health organizations suing over the rules. The rule, which was slated to go into effect Jan. 1, says that doctors can’t refuse to provide medically necessary health services within their scope of practice because of a patient’s gender identity.