NJ is Now Sanctuary State for the Transgender Treatment of Children

On February 13, 2023, NJ State Senator Andrew Zwicker (D) introduced a bill “concerning gender-affirming healthcare” for children.  Zwicker represents the 16th legislative district, which encompasses Branchburg, Delaware, Flemington, Hillsborough, Manville, Millstone, Montgomery, Princeton, Raritan (Hunterdon), Readington, Rockey Hill, Somerville, South Brunswick, Stockton, Clinton Town, Clinton Township, High Bridge, and Lebanon. 

Given the title of the bill, one might be forgiven for thinking that the proposed legislation seeks to protect children by affirming that they are perfect just the way they were born, even if they do fit into traditional gender stereotypes. Rather, Senator Zwicker’s bill seeks to amend the “Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act,” to make New Jersey a sanctuary state for children to flee to if one of their parents opposes medical treatment to change their gender appearance.

This Orwellian bill grants New Jersey Courts jurisdiction to decide issues of child custody if one parent flees their home state (ie: kidnaps the child away from the other parent), for the purpose of obtaining “gender-affirming” medical care, which is unavailable in their home state.  The bill also prohibits the extradition of a person charged in another state with child abuse for obtaining or providing such medical treatment, and forbids NJ attorneys and medical facilities from responding to Subpoenas issued from another state regarding such issues.  The parent who opposes providing their child with cross-sex hormones or surgical sterilization will thus be shut out from even obtaining a copy of their child’s medical records.  In other words, Senator Zwicker seeks to make our state a magnet for those who wish to perform gender-mutilating surgery on children and quash the rights of those parents throughout the country who oppose it.  The full text of the bill may be found in the following link: https://legiscan.com/NJ/text/S3592/id/2697440

There is a competing bill sponsored by NJ State Senator Durr (R), entitled the “Child Protection and Anti-Mutilation Act.”  See, Bill Text: NJ S3076 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced | LegiScan.  This bill makes it a third-degree crime to perform procedures on minors (under the age of 18) in an attempt to change their birth gender, including:

     (1)   prescribing puberty blocking medication to stop or delay normal puberty;

     (2)   prescribing testosterone to females;

     (3)   prescribing estrogen to males;

     (4)   performing surgeries that result in sterilization, including, but not limited to, castration, vasectomy, hysterectomy, oophorectomy, orchiectomy, and penectomy;

     (5)   performing surgeries that artificially construct tissue with the appearance of genitalia that differs from the individual’s sex, including, but not limited to, metoidioplasty, phalloplasty, and vaginoplasty; or

     (6)   removing any healthy or non-diseased body part or tissue, except in the case of a male circumcision.

The bill exempts treatment for minors who have a medically verifiable disorder, such as being a hermaphrodite (a person who has both male and female sexual organs) or are diagnosed by a physician with a physical, sexual development disorder, confirmed through genetic or biochemical testing.

Victoria A. Jakelsky, the Director of NJ Parental Rights (and member of the HCFRW), correctly predicted that the NJ legislature would not bring these competing bills up for a vote.  Rather than having legislators debate the issue, Governor Murphy took the extraordinary step of signing an Executive Order [“EO”] making New Jersey a magnet for “gender-affirming health care” and a sanctuary for medical professionals who are prohibited from performing transgender surgery on children in other states.  It would not be a leap in logic to assume that Senator Zwicker’s bill, which may have been difficult for Democrats to pass, motivated Murphy to sign the EO. 

The EO which King Murphy signed on April 4, 2023, references other states which have imposed barriers to “gender-affirming health care” for children as a threat to the transgender population.  The EO repeatedly labels gender-affirming healthcare as the gold standard of care, supposedly agreed upon by all medical professionals.  Repeating a lie often does not make it true.  Those physicians who are brave enough to speak out against such treatment of children warn that there will be many young adults who regret this process, which makes them life-long medical patients. Transgender Docs Warn About Gender-Affirmative Care for Youth (webmd.com)

Murphy is feeding into the falsehood that the very lives of transgender people are being threatened in this country.  States such as Florida pose no threat to the transgender population and do not prohibit adults from obtaining any elective medical procedures.  Rather, Florida law seeks to protect children from being exposed to over-sexualized material in school and stop state funding of puberty-blockers, cross-sex hormones, and transgender surgeries for children.  A group of medical professionals, including neurologists, endocrinologists, and psychiatrists recently testified in support of a Florida health agency’s rule preventing Medicaid from funding such treatment of minors.  Endocrinologist, Dr. Paul Hruz, wrote in a sworn affidavit that “patients suffering from gender dysphoria or related issues have a right to be protected from experimental, potentially harmful treatments lacking reliable, valid, peer-reviewed, published, long-term scientific evidence of safety and effectiveness. . .”  We should have great compassion for the small percentage of the population who truly suffer from gender dysphoria without rushing to perform irreversible procedures on children.

European nations have begun to see the danger of allowing left-wing political ideology to set treatment standards for children.  The United Kingdom, France, and Finland have all stopped pushing irreversible procedures on children as the treatment of choice for gender-confused children.  In 2021, Finland amended their national healthcare policy to protect children suffering from gender dysphoria and end the availability of gender interventions for patients under age 18.  One Year Since Finland Broke with WPATH “Standards of Care” | SEGM.  Even Sweden, one of the first countries to embrace transgender rights, has halted the use of puberty blockers for minors, and instead emphasizes psychotherapy for children diagnosed with gender dysphoria.  The Swedish U-Turn on Gender Transitioning for Children – CANADIAN GENDER REPORT. 

Violence against any individual or group, including the LGBTQ population, should not be tolerated in a civil society.  However, it is dangerous for public officials, such as Governor Murphy and Senator Zwicker, to whip up unfounded fear in any community. The lie that the lives of transgender are at risk of genocide is sparking physical violence around the country.  For example, the record-setting female swimmer, Riley Gaines, who is speaking out about the unfairness of women having to compete against biological males, was violently attacked on April 7^th by a group of trans-activists.  Riley Gaines Assaulted by Trans Activists at San Francisco State University (msn.com).  On March 27, 2023, a biological woman who identified as a transexual man, may have been motivated to shoot 6 people at a Nashville, TN Christian school, including 3 children, by such rhetoric.  Nashville shooter Audrey Hale’s suicide note found by cops (nypost.com).   The individuals involved in these hateful acts are responsible for their own actions.  However, the constant drumbeat by Democrats and their media allies, alleging that the transgender community is in mortal danger, may push unhinged individuals to turn to violence. 

The voters of New Jersey have an opportunity to send a message to government officials who seek to frighten the transgender community and sacrifice the innocence of children at the altar of secular extremism.  Senator Zwicker is running for re-election in November, 2023.  VOTE HIM OUT and support Michael Pappas (R), who is a former Congressman. Pappas’ running mates for the Assembly in the 16^th District are Clinton Councilman Ross Traphagen, and Grace Zhang, an accountant from Princeton.  The HCFRW enthusiastically endorses all three candidates.