Congressional Democrats are pushing for the deregulation of cross-sex hormones offered to females who identify as transgender as the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) comes to a close, according to Axios.
The PHE allowed providers to prescribe drugs by telemedicine, including testosterone, that would normally require in-person visits, according to Axios. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the Department of Health and Human Services have proposed allowing 30-day prescriptions by telemedicine followed by a mandatory in-person visit to continue the prescription, but Democrats are pushing to make the drug accessible with no in-person appointments indefinitely.
“While I appreciate the DEA’s efforts to remove barriers to health care, we need to do more to ensure that accessing testosterone for transgender and gender non-conforming communities isn’t burdensome, complicated, or delayed,” Democratic California Rep. Sara Jacobs told Axios. (RELATED: ‘Horrifying’: Huge Proportion Of Children Pursuing Gender Transitions Are Actually Autistic, Experts Believe)
Unlike estrogen, which is used by males who identify as transgender, testosterone is considered a controlled substance due to its abuse by athletes as a performance-enhancing drug.
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND – MARCH 14: Trans rights activists protest at a Gender Identity Talk held at Portobello Library on March 14, 2023 in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
“[W]e cannot allow the critical tools that were developed to connect patients to care to sunset along with [the PHE],” Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey told the outlet. He also said the Biden administration should “expand, not roll back, gender and life-affirming care for trans people.”
Democratic Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal said “[m]aintaining and expanding access to gender-affirming care is more important than ever,” referencing the push by Republican-led states to restrict sex-change procedures, according to Axios.
Several states have moved in recent months to ban sex-change procedures for minors including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgeries amid growing concern about the treatments’ safety and efficacy.
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