The state of Ohio's House of Representatives is considering legislation that forces educators, therapists, and social workers to out transgender minors to their parents or face fourth-degree felony charges. For those who display characteristics in opposition to their assigned gender at birth, or who openly question their gender, the stakes are nothing short of life and death.

Ohio House Bill 658 mandates certain state workers and therapists report a minor's gender identity or the questioning of their gender identity to the parents. Introduced by Reps. Thomas Brinkman and Paul Zeltwanger, the bill also gives parents the right to “withhold consent for gender dysphoria treatment or activities that are designed and intended to form a child's conception of sex and gender.” Ohio legislators want the decision to transition out of the hands of transgender people if they are under 18, giving sole power of treatment decisions to the parents; who must both consent. For teens with parents unwilling to support them at a time when the effects of gender dysphoria lead to a host of mental anguish and suicidal thoughts, this could be a death sentence.

Equality Ohio, an LGBTQ advocacy group in the state, released a statement, saying, “In targeting transgender children, the bill authors create a ridiculous and unenforceable requirements—requirements that out transgender students and create a significant threat of bullying and reduced access to social support systems. This unnecessary and discriminatory bill does nothing to support youth and families. In fact, it puts the livelihoods of some of our most vulnerable youth—transgender youth—further at risk with bullying and discrimination by potentially forcing teachers to out them.” The organization warned that if HB 658 passes, the state would be forced to deputize state employees to be gender cops to avoid the fourth-degree felony charge that comes with not disclosing a trans student or a patient's status to their parents.

Not only is the bill particularly odious in its intended purpose to out transgender teens, it also requires the withholding of treatment without the “written, informed consent of each of the child's parents and the child's guardian or custodian, as required in Section 2131.144 of the Revised Code.” Simply put, if one parent is aware and agrees to the child's treatment for gender dysphoria, but the other parent isn't aware or their whereabouts are unknown, the teen will not be able to seek treatment for gender dysphoria. The measure also protects parents or guardians by forbidding those who reject treatment options for their transgender child from having their decision used against them in custody cases or complaints of abuse and neglect.

According to data from the National Center for Transgender Equality, nearly 37 percent of transgender people attempt suicide before the age of 24. The Human Rights Campaign said in its 2018 LGBTQ Youth Report that because LGBTQ youth spend the majority of their time in school, their experiences in classrooms, halls, lunchrooms, and extra-curricular activities shape who they are, and “the real and perceived fear of rejection is compounded by the negative comments they hear about the LGBTQ community from their parents and family members.” For transgender students, sometimes their teachers or therapists are the only people with whom they're comfortable exploring their gender identity. Forcing those adults to choose between being charged with a felony or betraying the trans students' trust is no choice at all.

Leelah Alcorn, a transgender girl born and raised in Ohio, became one of the most internationally recognized transgender youth when she posted a suicide note on her Tumblr site before her death in 2014. She expressed hope that her suicide would result in a dialogue about discrimination, abuse and lack of support for transgender people. When she came out to her parents at age 14, they refused to accept her gender identity, insisting she remain the boy she was born as. At 16, when she requested to transition as a treatment for her gender dysphoria, her parents not only denied treatment, but they sent her to a Christian-based conversion therapy in an attempt to force her to accept her gender assigned at birth. Unable to connect with friends thanks to her parents removing her from school and shutting down her access to social media, Leelah blamed them for isolating her and exacerbating her feelings of alienation, directly correlating her parents' lack of support with her decision to end her life.

If HB 658 passes and eventually becomes law, transgender teens will have nowhere left to turn for help. A significant portion of insurers won't pay for medical treatment without a diagnosis of gender dysphoria. For many transgender teens, receiving hormone blockers at the onset of puberty and hormone replacement therapy to put them on the path toward aligning their physical body with their mental identity are life-saving treatments, improving their mental health and stability. Without the ability to rely on therapists to work through them when they begin to question their gender identity, many of these youth will face all the challenges of puberty and teenage uncertainty with the added burden of an identity crisis, with few options on where to turn for guidance. If teachers, guidance counselors, therapists, and social workers are unable to help them without mandatory disclosure, there's a very real possibility these teens will turn to much less healthy options to cope, or decide to end their pain altogether.

Voting in November to put legislators in office who will help transgender people is crucial to this most targeted of populations. With compassionate and conscientious leaders in Congress, the danger of bills like HB 658 will never see the light of day, much less become law. We must stand in solidarity with our transgender community—particularly our trans youth—to ensure their safety now and for years to come.

Angela D. Giampolo, principal of Giampolo Law Group, maintains offices in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and specializes in LGBT law, business law, real estate law and civil rights. Her website is www.giampololaw.com and she maintains two blogs, www.phillygaylawyer.com and www.lifeinhouse.com. Contact her at [email protected].