1. United States
2. Mich.
3. Letter

Stop legislating trans people's medical care. The decision about what healthcare is necessary belongs between a patient and their doctor — full stop. That's not a radical position. It's the same standard conservatives applied when they fought for "Right to Try" legislation, which held that government couldn't block a patient from accessing available medication. Apply that standard equally, or admit the principle was never really about freedom. Trans people are not a political wedge. We are people trying to live our lives, access our doctors, and be left out of the culture war machinery. Every time an elected official hedges on equal rights to chase centrist consulting advice, they hand anti-trans operatives exactly what they want — a slow rightward drag on what basic dignity is allowed to look like. Abdul El-Sayed said it plainly at Michigan State: "The government doesn't get to have a say about what healthcare is provided in what circumstances and why." That is the correct standard. Hold to it.