Nicole McAfee, Executive Director of Freedom Oklahoma, sent the following statement to CapitolBeatOK.com last week after the passage of a Senate bill banning what the group characterized as “gender-affirming medical care for Oklahoma minors.”

McAfee’s statement read:

“Our communities are exhausted by the endless attacks on our autonomy, privacy, and right to live as our full, authentic selves. Today’s passage of [SB3XX] proves yet again politicians in the Oklahoma Legislature are more concerned with personal, political ambitions than they are with the health and well-being of Oklahomans.

“These ARPA funds were intended as an investment in the expansion of OU Health Facilities’ behavioral health programs. Instead, they will be used to discriminate on the basis of gender, excluding some of our most vulnerable youth from receiving life-saving care. It’s an appalling piece of legislation that, given its emergency clause, is purposefully exacerbating real and immediate harm.

“The legislators who voted in favor of [SB3XX] are not pediatric medical professionals, they are not in a community with trans youth, and remain willfully ignorant to the best practice standards for gender-affirming care. 2SLGBTQ+ Oklahomans deserve so much better.”

McAfee continued, saying the legislation (signed into law this week by Governor Kevin Stitt) “also stands to drive even more care providers from our state. Medical professionals deserve to be trusted to do their jobs, but this law undermines them and their critical work.

“Trans youth and their families deserve the safety to seek appropriate care, but [SB3XX] violates their autonomy and their right to best-practice medical care. The Oklahoma legislature is setting a terrifying precedent where a few, uniformed folks determine the funding streams and accessibility of specific medical procedures they deem ‘morally objectionable.’

“To all of our transgender youth and their families — we see you. We love you. You are already bearing the burden of so much harm caused by the bullies in the Oklahoma Legislature. To our families, supporters, and community partners — thank you for showing up. … Your presence tells our children that they are not alone. This fight is far from over. Together, we’re going to build an Oklahoma where we all have the safety to thrive.”

The full text of Senate Bill 3XX can be studied here:

http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/cf_pdf/2021-22%20ENR/SB/SB3XX%20ENR.PDF