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by Renee McGuinness
The Vermont House Committee on Health Care invited youth leaders from Outright Vermont to testify on March 20. The topic was, “Gender affirming care and essential care for youth.” Outright Vermont is a 50(c)(3) organization that supports LGBTQ+ youth. Its mission statement is, “building a Vermont where all LGBTQ+ youth have hope, equity, and power.”
Chair Alyssa Black opened the meeting with, I’m really excited today. Today is Outright Vermont Youth Leadership Day at the State House, and we are joined by lots of youth leaders.”
Amanda Rohdenburg, Associate Director of Outright Vermont; Jessica Barquist, VP of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, which is a provider of gender-affirming care drugs and services; Megan Kelly, a Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) advisor and Spanish teacher at Shelburne Community School, GSA co-adviser Annette; and Ginger Irish, well-known to the Committee as the Director of Development at Outright Vermont, were in attendance.
During testimony, youth as young as eleven years old pleaded with Committee members to protect their access to mental health, suicide prevention, and access to gender-affirming care.
A high school senior named Alex alluded to the POTUS’ Executive Orders on Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism And Restoring Biological Truth To The Federal Government and Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation as a threat to receiving the care they claim they desperately need, characterizing national leadership as, “intentionally destructive and ignorant political officials.”
“I ask the committee to work to protect gender-affirming care specifically for youth in Vermont, and that you use your voice and your position to normalize our identities,” said Alex.
Another senior named Griffin asked for state-wide access to suicide prevention and mental health resources in schools, “Although the Department of Mental Health released a strategic plan for suicide prevention in July of 2024, access to these critical resources in schools remains insufficient,” and continued to explain that teachers’ and administrators’ referrals to third parties to receive assistance is not helpful.
Chair Alyssa Black responded, “Thank you Griffin, you’re right. It was this Committee that created that statewide [suicide prevention] plan. And one of the things that we know we are lacking, and we talk about it all the time, is a strategic statewide plan for schools, so thank you for reminding us of that.”
An eleven-year-old named Clementine said, “Imagine that you are born in a body you do not want, and you didn’t choose . . . imagine someone, a person in power, or even a family member says ‘No, that can’t happen. You can’t do that. You’ll be illegal. You are not allowed to change your body.’ This could lead you to even kill yourself,” and asked the Committee to refuse compliance with the “rules,” an apparent reference to the POTUS’ Executive Orders.
A high school senior named Emmet stated that, “Affordability is just the biggest barrier, I would say.”
Bills to expand health insurance coverage for gender-affirming care and to stockpile gender -affirming care drugs, H.55 and H.56, were introduced and referred to the Committee on Health Care but have not taken up this session.
In 2024, a bill requiring annual mental health screening of school-age youth for anxiety, depression, and suicide risk, H.816, was introduced. In 2022, H.659, a bill to “Allow a minor who identifies as transgender to consent to receiving hormone blockers and other nonsurgical, gender-affirming care and treatment without requiring parental consent,” was introduced but not taken up.
Vermont Family Alliance anticipates the above bills will be taken up in the future, is opposed to legislation that usurps the authority of parents to direct their children’s health care and education, and is alarmed and deeply concerned that we have minors in Vermont asking for the State to intervene in their mental and physical health care.
The group continued their day at the State House with a rally and press conference, while DeTransitioners, who are in need of mental and physical health care, were recently marginalized by Vermont House and Senate Democrats and excluded from having their voices heard and their needs considered when Vermont Family Alliance and SPEAK VT’s DeTrans Awareness Day Event was shut down by the Office of the Sergeant at Arms.
Outright Vermont Youth Leader’s testimony can be found in two parts: House Committee on Health Care March 20 10 am and House Committee on Health Care March 20 10:18 am.
The author is an Addison County resident and policy analyst for the Vermont Family Alliance.
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Categories: Commentary
And I’m sure that “Ouright Vermont’s” right to hold such an event will be respected . Too bad that those who have a differing opinion’s rights were not respected in the same manner .
Exactly!! That discrimination is seriously NOT right! Wouldn’t it be a good idea if the two groups could work together. I believe that both groups have valid concerns. I know-dream on Gail.
Fixed:
“I ask the committee to work to protect [indoctrinated]-affirming care specifically for youth in Vermont, and that you use your voice and your position to [pervert] our identities,” said Alex.
Not long ago they enshrined these procedures and abortion up to delivery as “Legally Protected Helth Care Services” which entitles parents to Sit Down and Shut up (or at least revokes the legal standing in challenges to secret medical services on minors). To allow 11 year olds to testify is a good thing for our side as it shows their extreme views and radical theology laid bare for all to see.
Make no mistake theirs is a cult of theological affirmation and rigid expectations of conformity in the political sphere.
The solution to Speech we despise is More Speech… they always hang themselves given enough rope.
I wish I could plop Clementine into one of those group therapy sessions Dr Az Hakeem used to hold in his clinic in the UK for those seeking gender transition.
If you have never perused OutRight Vermont and/or OutRight International websites you really should. In my opinion they are a political activist organization much like Hitlers Youth, in that the children are being used and brainwashed by this organization.
Minute 1:05 in the attached 5 minute promotional video from Outright, you will see a heading ‘Youth Leading Change’. They say and I quote, “Youth people should be in leadership roles for cultural change work. Because they are imbedded in the systems that we are trying to change and shift”.
https://youtu.be/Ollc1vzi0Og
This is alarming and the incredibly sad that Vermont has let this group into our public schools.
OUT WITH OUTRIGHT!
https://outrightvt.org/assets/image-cache/Default.d8ae12fd.copy_of_img_9732.81730934.jpg
Here is a picture of a dear little child that Outright has on their website. Underneath it are the words “Thriving in school can be challenging for queer and trans youth. “
Can anyone explain to me how someone at this age, would. on their own , call themselves queer or trans? What complete utter nonsense, evil to the core.
This dear child and many others are being used. I can’t even wrap my head around this madness.
Never mind that their brains are NOT fully developed. Children have very little experience with the consequences of their actions. That part of the brain is not fully developed until they are at least 20 years or older.
Why would this spectacle not be considered “sexual exploitation of minors” per THE LAW. How is it that mixing sex education under the disquise of gender – which is or was a person’s biological sex? You can’t discuss the gender without discussing the body parts involved! We are to believe a child who barely learned how to got to the potty, learn their abc’s, still developing – physically and mentally, has the wherewithall to know they are the wrong sex? Why or how would they know anything about sexual orientation at pre-adolescence or even consider they are in the wrong body? How many people as children actually discussed this with other children on a playground prior to 2020?
The slippery-slope has turned into an avalanche of perverted degenerate adults doing dispicible acts and harm to children! I cannot believe the public is so brainfogged that laws, the public trust, and basic human rights of children are allowed to be subverted to such a disgusting and reprehensible level. The millstones are coming – I hope and pray for the lives of these children. Lord, have mercy!
I agree Melissa. Children do not think like adults. They think like children!
To sexualize an innocent child’s question’s or thought’s shows a complete lack of understanding of children and I agree “harmful” to them as well. It’s abusive and should be unlawful.
The shear ignorance of where we are today was expressed a few years ago when I heard a comedian say
“I wanted to be a pirate when I was a kid. So glad my parents didn’t cut off one of my legs and take out an eye!”
Yes, Lord have mercy!
The way to make health care affordable and available is to limit coverage to the MEDICALLY NECESSARY. Mutilating children so their “parents” or caregivers can get their sexual jollies is NOT medically necessary.