Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Republican, this week opposed a state law banning gender-affirming health care for transgender youth, distancing himself from other Republicans on an issue that is already becoming a hot topic in the presidential race. said to have put The White House in 2024.
Christie’s Interview on June 18th CNN’s Jake Tapper says states are abandoning efforts to ban or restrict gender-affirming medical care for transgender children and adolescents, replacing them with policies that prioritize parental involvement in transition-related care for minors. said it should.
Christie, who is running for president ahead of the 2024 presidential election, said, “I would never believe that the government should help children go through the process of being confused or insecure about their gender on behalf of their parents.” said. this month. “Parents are in the best position to make these decisions.”
“What I would like to see with states is that they require parents to be involved in these decisions,” he continued, adding: It determines important decisions in their lives and should not be in any way precluded by the government. ”
Twenty states have passed laws that severely restrict or ban gender reassignment medical care for transgender minors, and 17 of them went into effect this year.and interview On Thursday, Christie, along with Fox & Friends’ Brian Kilmeade, criticized the governor for approving such a bill.
“This is more of a parent’s decision than a governor’s decision, Brian,” Christie said. “Do you really think Sarah Huckabee Sanders should make this decision for the children of Arkansas?”
“I love Sarah. I think she’s a great person and a really good governor,” he added. “But I don’t think she’ll ever allow her government to replace her own judgment as her mother with that of her government.”
Christie has also not said whether he believes transgender youth should have access to gender-affirming medical care, or whether he supports shield laws to protect access to treatment. The view remains an outlier among other 2024 Republican candidates.
Former President Trump, a Republican, outlined more than a dozen policy proposals aimed at gender-affirming health care in a campaign video in February, including a federal bill to ban care of minors in all 50 states. President Trump has also promised to limit access to gender-affirmation care for transgender adults if he is re-elected.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (Republican) has expressed similar views, signing a bill banning health care providers from administering puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy and surgery to transgender minors. bottom. The law, which was partially blocked by a federal judge earlier this month, creates significant barriers to transgender adults getting care and puts health care providers at risk of having their licenses revoked.
Former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley believes transgender youth should not be allowed to make the medical transition until at least 18, and even if they do “Taxpayers’ tax dollars should not be wasted,” he said. Or “
Haley also called transgender women in sports a “modern women’s problem” and said that the rise in suicidal thoughts among cisgender teenage girls is due to the fact that transgender students struggle with their gender identity. It was suggested that it was caused by using the toilet and locker room according to.
Christie was governor of New Jersey in 2017 law signed Ensure transgender students have access to school facilities that match their gender identity and prohibit health insurance companies and Medicaid from discriminating based on their gender identity.
Fellow Republican presidential candidate and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson similarly took steps during her tenure to defend the rights of transgender people. In 2021, he vetoed Arkansas’ gender-affirming health ban, the first of its kind in the nation, calling the bill “a massive government overreach.”
A federal judge this week overruled an Arkansas law that came into effect after Congress voted to override Hutchinson’s veto.
Hutchinson has yet to mention transgender health care in his campaign. His campaign has not responded to multiple inquiries from The Hill about the matter.
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