Last week, the Manchester School Board tabled a bill to provide much need health care for transgender people.
During the meeting where the board considered health care for transgender employees and their families, board member John Avard of Ward 10 asked if transition related care for transgender people may be elective health care. That position has been researched and decisively rejected by broad consensus of the medical community. Transition related care is necessary for the health and well being of transgender individuals as affirmed by the American Medical Association. That is why 14 states, the District of Columbia, the federal government and thousands of employers across the nation provide such coverage to their employees.
Good health starts with nondiscriminatory coverage. We urge the Manchester School District to listen to the medical community and affirm the medical necessity of transition related care for transgender employees. The Manchester school board should recognize this, take the bill off the table, and move forward with providing healthcare for transgender employees and their families.
Linds Jakows is the Campaign Manager with Freedom New Hampshire and lives in Manchester.
