A new measure introduced in California would mandate healthcare professionals to undergo training to provide "inclusive health care" to transgender patients.
In February, Democrat state Senator Scott Wiener introduced Senate Bill 923 or S.B. 923, a legislation that would require health care staffa dn support staff to undergo "competency training" to for the purpose of "providing trans-inclusive health care for individuals who identify as transgender, gender nonconforming, or intersex (TGI)," the bill's language said. The proposed California law did not allow for religious exemptions, which means that if it is passed into law, it would require Christian medical professionals to undergo the training and cater to transgender patients.
According to the Christian Headlines, the "transgender training" that medical practitioners will be required to undergo under the proposed bill must include information on the "oppression" of gender nonconforming and intersex communities, as well as how to use "people's correct names and pronouns." The bill mandates that medical professionals must use "gender-neutral language."
The new California law said that the "transgender training" has to acknowledge the "difference between personal values and professional responsibilities with regard to serving TGI people."
Sen. Wiener argued that "transgender, gender non-conforming, and intersex people deserve the same quality of healthcare that everyone else receives." He added that not one person should have to experience being "misgendered, harassed, or even refused treatment."
Sen. Wiener argued further that many healthcare providers "work hard to treat TGI people with respect," but many more TGI patients are not being treated "appropriately." He said that they experience "traumatizing experiences" which then prevent them from accessing the medical care that they need.
The Democratic senator calls the proposed California law the "Inclusive Health Care Act." But some critics oppose the proposed California law that woudl require Christian medical professionals to undergo "transgender training."
California Family Council director of capitol engagement Greg Burt criticized Sen. Wiener's move to "put pressure on those still holding to the biblical, binary nature of gender" through the proposed California law. He argued that the Democratic lawmaker is "[displaying] a totalitarian impulse toward anyone who disagrees with him regarding the nature of gender and how best to help those struggling with gender dysphoria."
Burt underscored how the proposed California law would force Christian medical professionals who fail to provide "trans-inclusive health care" to undergo "cultural competency training" over and over again. He expressed concern over how the bill would also force Christian medical professionals will have to deal with "using sterilizing drugs and surgeries on healthy reproductive organs of adults, as well as minors."
Burt called this "forced ideological indoctrination," which he believes the Democrat senator is now forcing on conservative and Christian medical professionals, or whoever does not share his views on the matter.
According to the California Family Council, S.B. 293 will require the "transgender training" to be facilitated by a TGI-lead organization. Such examples of a TGI-lead organization is one called Break the Binary, a group led by a transgendered couple who are co-sponsoring the proposed California law. The proposed legislation is also supported by a number of transgender legal and health organizations.
