They Are Legislating People Out of Existence

Send us Fan MailLet's not sugarcoat this. What's happening right now in the United States is not a debate over policy. Not a difference of opinion. It is a coordinated, escalating effort to make life harder — legally, medically, socially — for transgender people to simply exist. And if that sounds dramatic, good. It should. Join Jen & Carolyn as they dissect the right's war on trans folx-an episode we wish to God we didn't have to do...References:Trans Legislation Tracker — 2026 data — https://translegislation.com/"Hundreds of Anti-Trans Bills Have Already Been Introduced This Year" — Truthout, Feb. 2026 (ACLU tracking figures) — https://truthout.org/articles/hundreds-of-anti-trans-bills-have-already-been-introduced-this-year/"Anti-transgender legislation accelerates in early 2026" — Prism Reports — https://prismreports.org/2026/02/09/anti-transgender-bills-2026/Federal policy — Medicaid/CHIP rule (Aug. 2026):CNN — "Trump administration bans the use of federal Medicaid funds..." — https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/11/politics/trump-transgender-identity-healthcareThe Hill — "Trump administration finalizes rule restricting trans healthcare for minors on Medicaid" — https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/6023489-cms-blocks-minor-gender-care/LGBTQ Nation — "Trump administration finalizes plan to strip federal funds..." — https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/08/administration-finalizes-plan-to-strip-federal-funds-from-trans-youth-health-care/Supreme Court cases:SCOTUSblog — West Virginia v. B.P.J. / Little v. Hecox ruling, June 30, 2026 — https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/06/court-rules-that-states-can-exclude-transgender-athletes-from-girls-and-womens-sports-teams/NPR — Supreme Court upholds bans on transgender athletes — https://www.npr.org/2026/06/30/nx-s1-5836513/supreme-court-transgender-athletesNBC News — Supreme Court upholds state transgender sports bans — https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-upholds-state-transgender-sports-bans-rcna261384United States v. Skrmetti (2025) — Cornell LII, full opinion text — https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/23-477United States v. Skrmetti — SCOTUSblog case file — https://www.scotusblog.com/cases/case-files/united-states-v-skrmetti/Montana Free Press — "What to know about Montana's new sex definition bill" — https://montanafreepress.org/2026/03/30/montanas-new-sex-definition-bill/KTVB/AP — Montana SB 437 coverage — https://www.ktvb.com/article/syndication/associatedpress/what-to-know-about-montanas-new-sex-definition-bill/616-8ca9421d-533d-4cde-ae34-0c8944dbbe42Texas Tribune — "Texas' sex definition law, explained" (HB 229) — https://www.texastribune.org/2025/05/29/texas-trans-sex-definition-state-documents-impact/Kansas Senate Bill 244 — legislative record — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_Senate_Bill_244Clinical & academic studies — "special rights" reframe data:JAMA Pediatrics, 2025 — puberty blocker cohort study (231,783 youths; 82% cisgender) — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42467435/JAMA Network Open, 2024 — Dai et al., "Prevalence of Gender-Affirming Surgical Procedures Among Minors and Adults in the US" (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health) — https://www.healio.com/news/pediatrics/20250107/study-few-us-adolescents-receive-genderaffirming-care-surgeriesLGBTQ Nation — plain-language summary of the Harvard/JAMA gynecomastia data (97% of adolescent chest surgeries were cisgender boys) — https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2024/07/cis-boys-get-gender-affirming-surgeries-more-often-than-transgender-minors/NBC News — "Less than 0.1% of U.S. minors take gender-affirming medication, study finds" — https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-health-and-wellness/less-01-us-minors-take-gender-affirming-medication-study-finds-rcna186139TransFamily Alliance parent scripts / advocacy reference, "Special care — or just good medicine?" (2026) — clinical citations therein: AAP, APA, WPATH SOC8, Endocrine SocietyOyèrónkẹ́ Oyěwùmí, The Invention of Women: Making an African Sense of Western Gender Discourses (1997) — decolonial gender frameworkBostock v. Clayton County (2020) — background on why states are now pursuing "sex definition" laws as a workaround