USA – ‘We’re a part of this movement, too.’ Transgender and nonbinary people say they feel excluded from the abortion fight

By Jacquelyne Germain, CNN
Sat August 27, 2022

Mikiko Galpin still feels the impact of being sexually assaulted by someone he thought he could trust -- and the tough decisions he was forced to make after multiple pregnancy scares.

When Roe v. Wade was overturned in June, it was a sad and heavy moment for the 29-year-old transgender man. He was taken back to the first time he took a pregnancy test prior to transitioning. He recalls crying in the passenger seat of a friend's car at 2 a.m. trying to search for a pharmacy that was still open so he could buy a pregnancy test.

Continued: https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/27/us/transgender-nonbinary-abortion-reproductive-care-reaj/index.html

Why I Didn’t Tell My Doctor I’m Trans Before My Abortion

Three trans men and nonbinary people talk to writer Kam Burns about their abortion experiences and the importance of inclusive health care.

BY KAM BURNS
November 23, 2020

El Sanchez was crying as the nurse held their hand. "I'm sorry," the nurse said. "This is always really hard for women." But at that moment, Sanchez wasn't crying from the emotional consequences of getting an abortion; they were crying because of the physical pain. Soon, Sanchez began bawling. Both the nurse and the doctor performing the procedure continued to misgender them, ignoring their insistence that, really, they were fine, and no, they didn't need their "boyfriend."

This was Sanchez's second abortion, but their first since coming out as nonbinary. "The first time, you know, I didn't get emotional at all," Sanchez tells Allure. "[During my second abortion] the combination of the doctor misgendering me, and then forcing these heterosexual gender roles on me, made me feel even more erased in the situation, and so it became much more emotional for me."

Continued: https://www.allure.com/story/abortion-trans-man-nonbinary-experience

How abortion bans harm LGBTQ2 people, too

Queer and trans people are systematically harmed by continued attempts to dismantle abortion access in the U.S.

By Jessica Zucker
Aug 25, 2020

Amidst a global pandemic that has already claimed the lives of over 165,000 Americans and left more than 20 million unemployed, GOP politicians are still shamelessly focused on curtailing access to safe, legal, affordable abortion care. In Nebraska, Republicans have introduced a bill that would ban an abortion method that is proven to be safe. In Iowa, GOP lawmakers passed a law requiring abortion patients to make an additional, medically unnecessary appointment with an abortion provider then wait 24 hours to receive abortion care. In Tennessee, lawmakers successfully banned abortion as early as six weeks, which is before most people even know they’re pregnant (the law was blocked by a federal court 45 minutes after it was signed).

Continued: https://www.dailyxtra.com/abortion-bans-harm-lgbtq2-178036

USA – Why using inclusive language in abortion care is an essential aspect of equal rights

July 26, 2020
Aspen Ruhlin

Across the country, abortion rights are yet again under threat. While Maine is luckily spared from many of these attacks due to our strong legal protections, we are not exempt from the impact that divisive language can have on reproductive rights and access.

The current discourse is saturated with problematic sound bites and overly simplistic messaging about abortion rights, leading to confusion, division and stigma. Well-intentioned politicians and supporters can unintentionally harm marginalized groups at a time when we should be centering those communities.

Continued: https://mainebeacon.com/why-using-inclusive-language-in-abortion-care-is-an-essential-aspect-of-equal-rights/

Canada – Clinic 554, Fredericton Abortion Clinic That Also Supports LGBTQ Patients, Set To Close

Clinic 554, Fredericton Abortion Clinic That Also Supports LGBTQ Patients, Set To Close
The clinic's director, along with Jagmeet Singh, want the federal government to intervene.

10/11/2019
By Maija Kappler

New Brunswick’s only freestanding abortion clinic, which also provides health care to much of the province’s transgender population, is set to close.

Clinic 554 has previously relied on crowdsourced donations to stay open, and the staff sometimes forgoes payment from patients in order to provide services.

“We feel a tremendous amount of fear for our patients and the underserved communities we care for,” Clinic 554’s medical director, Dr. Adrian Edgar, said in an emotional statement posted to Facebook. “I thought I would be the family doctor for my patients until I or they died.”

Continued: https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/abortion-clinic-closure-new-brunswick_ca_5d9fa05de4b087efdbab11c0?utm_hp_ref=ca-living

For Trans Men Seeking Reproductive Health Care, ‘There Are Barriers Every Step of the Way’

For Trans Men Seeking Reproductive Health Care, ‘There Are Barriers Every Step of the Way’
“It’s ironic to me, in a really sad way, because so much of transphobia and transmisogyny is focused on the genitalia of a person, and in this instance our reproductive organs suddenly don't matter."

Jul 3, 2019
Tris Mamone

Despite working in the medical field for 15 years—six as an emergency medical technician and nine as a paramedic—Don Altemus rarely gets routine reproductive health-care examinations because they are often awkward for him as a trans man.

“I happen to have a very masculine presentation,” he told Rewire.News, “And long before my transition, people ‘read’ me as male.”

Continued: https://rewire.news/article/2019/07/03/trans-men-reproductive-health-care/

The Trump Administration Will Allow Health Workers To Refuse Abortion And Sex Reassignment Services

The Trump Administration Will Allow Health Workers To Refuse Abortion And Sex Reassignment Services
The rule will protect discrimination based on “conscience” or “religious beliefs,” but opponents argue it will greatly limit access to care.

Ema O'Connor BuzzFeed News Reporter
Dominic Holden BuzzFeed News Reporter
Posted on May 2, 2019

The Trump administration released a final rule Thursday that will allow health workers to refuse to perform or assist medical procedures — like abortion, assisted suicide, or sex reassignment surgery — if it violates their “conscience” or religion.

The rule, which will take effect in 60 days, applies to health care institutions receiving federal funding. It repeals an Obama-era discrimination protection rule that President Donald Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services said “proved inadequate.” The new rule specifically protects “providers, individuals, and other health care entities from having to provide, participate in, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for, services such as abortion, sterilization, or assisted suicide.”

Continued: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/emaoconnor/trump-rule-religious-doctors-refuse-abortion-sex

02.05.2019