Most Americans Don’t Want States Able to Ban Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Kids

A progressive poll found most voters don’t believe state legislatures have the right to ban abortion or gender-affirming care.

The Data For Progress think tank surveyed more than 1,200 voters nationwide and found most people believe decisions on those personal health decisions should be guided by medical professionals, not elected lawmakers.

But the key finding was that 55 percent of voters believe “state lawmakers should not be allowed to implement full bans on abortion and gender-affirming medical care, and place criminal penalties on physicians who provide this care. By comparison, just 34 percent believe those restrictions do fall under the purview of politicians.

Pollsters report a margin of error of 3 percent. Likely voters were surveyed between Nov. 9 and 11.

Related: Americans Don’t Want Politicians Focusing on Transgender Issues, Survey Finds

There’s a significant difference in opinion based on political party. About 53 percent of Republicans feel legislatures should be allowed to restrict access to abortion or transgender health care, while 34 percent consider the topics out of bounds. Meanwhile, about 76 percent of Democrats feel those decisions fall outside the scope of state lawmakers’ work.

But among the critical set of independent voters polled, a majority, or 56 percent, feel the legislatures shouldn’t have the power to regulate care, and just 29 percent felt they should.

Data For Progress leaders say this shows what elections in 2022 and 2022 already hinted at, that voters are not on board with conservative plans to regulate women’s bodies or trans teenagers’ identities.

“State bans on gender-affirming medical care, like state bans on abortion, threaten public health and personal freedom,” Rob Todaro, Data for Progress communications director, said in a release. “Democrats must address this crisis by defending bodily autonomy and the right of families to make decisions about their medical care, without interference from politicians. The ongoing success of reproductive rights — and failure of anti-trans attacks — at the ballot box should give them the political courage to do so.”

Yet according to the latest tracking by the Human Rights Campaign, 22 states now have laws in place restricting gender-affirming care for minors. That affects more than 35 percent of trans youth.

Additionally, transgender issues don't feature prominently in most Americans’ political priorities, according to an online survey from the 19th of more than 20,000 adults conducted in late August. Just 17 percent believed politicians should focus on restricting gender-affirming care, while 33 percent thought they should protect transgender individuals.

As far as abortion,

The New York Times reports 21 states have implemented some level of abortion restrictions not allowed before the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022.