Trans campaigner Jaxon Feeley vows to fight Liz Truss’ bill targeting trans children and healthcare
"I have promised hundreds of families in messages on social media that I will never stop this fight and I never will," Jaxon Feeley has said
The trans campaigner and model, Jaxon Feeley, has vowed to fight a new bill aimed at curbing trans youth’s access to gender-affirming care. It also would introduce new offences for medical professionals that seek to help trans youth.
The Health and Equality Acts (Amendment) Bill was published on Monday (11 March). It’s due to get a second reading on Friday (15 March). Posting about it on X, formerly Twitter, Liz Truss, the UK’s shortest-serving former prime minister urged the UK government to support it. She added: “It will protect children from body-altering decisions and protect single-sex spaces.”
The bill, which places a heavy emphasis on biological sex, seeks to amend the Health and Care Act 2022. It states that it should be an offence for healthcare professionals to “prescribe, administer or supply a medicinal product to a child as part of a course of treatment for gender dysphoria for the purposes of – (a) stopping or delaying the normal onset of puberty, or (b) affirming the child’s perception of their sex where that perception is inconsistent with the child’s sex.”
“I felt sick to my stomach thinking of the impact this bill could have on trans people’s lives”
Anyone found guilty could be punished with a jail sentence, a fine, or both. Healthcare professionals who have prescribed hormone treatment before the section comes into effect (which isn’t certain by any means) should be protected.
The Bill also seeks to inhibit the ability of public authorities in England to “take any steps to recognise, or enable the recognition of, children as having a gender that is inconsistent with their sex.” It continues by saying public authorities should “not refer to a child with language that is inconsistent with their sex.” Children should also only be able to access facilities consistent with the sex assigned at birth, as per the bill.
This would effectively stop trans children from being able to socially transition – changing names and pronouns etc – at school.
The bill also advocates for defining ‘sex’ in the 2010 Equality Act as “the classification of that person as either male or female based on the organisation of the person’s body for a specific reproductive role, as indicated by the person’s sex chromosomes, naturally occurring sex hormones, and internal and external genitalia present at birth.”
Responding to the bill’s publication Feeley told Attitude: “My first reaction was shock that these things were actually being put to paper from people who are supposed to make decisions with all humans in mind. I felt sick to my stomach thinking of the impact this bill could have on trans people’s lives and decisions moving forward.
“What these people don’t realise is they are making decisions that will directly impact their children, their children’s children and for generations after. The thought of losing an election is clearly much important.”
“I will never stop this fight and I never will”
He also said “it only fuels me and my fire to stop it.” He added: “Politicians don’t create change, society does. I have promised hundreds of families in messages on social media that I will never stop this fight and I never will.”
A spokesperson for the trans charity Mermaids told Attitude: “All children deserve access to supportive, appropriate healthcare and education. Truss’ bill aims to strip trans youth of these rights and is a cynical political stunt which will only harm an already marginalised group of young people.”
Truss’ bill has been supported by Priti Patel, Ian Paisley, Dame Jackie Doyle-Price, and Dr Caroline Johnson. Nick Fletcher, Miriam Cates, Ben Bradley, Tom Hunt, Robin Millar, Andrew Lewer, and Marco Longhi have also supported it.
Truss has also indicated on X that she has had support from Maya Forstater. Writing for The Mail Online Truss said: “Passing my bill into law would be a significant victory for common sense, for the safety and wellbeing of children, and for the rights of women.”
In December, the government published its draft guidance for schools over children transitioning. It also announced a 12-week consultation, closing today (12 March). It advised schools take a “cautious approach” but said schools “should not” grant all requests from children to change their names and pronouns to correspond with their gender identity.
The guidance was blasted as “cruel” by some, with Just Like Us, the LGBTQ+ youth charity encouraging teachers to reject it altogether.