Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed didn’t mince words at a recent campaign event, when one Michigan student asked him about protecting gender-affirming care. It was no small gesture at a time when some Democrats are shying away from full-throated support for protecting equal rights and privacy for trans people.
“My friend and I were wondering together what is your plan—to not only like, legislate health care in terms of like abortion and also gender-affirming health care, but like, to educate the public on that,” the audience member asked. “Because the controversy and misinformation is just so widespread right now.”
“I went to whole-ass medical school,” El-Sayed told the crowded room at Michigan State University as part of an event held by More Perfect Union, a newsroom covering labor issues.
“Everybody I graduated with also went to whole-ass medical school,” he continued. “They are the experts that a patient wants to see when they seek care. And the decision about what healthcare is necessary ought to be held between a patient—and/or their parents if they’re under the age of 18—and their doctor. That’s it.”
When it comes to policy, El-Sayed said, “I don’t think the government gets to have a say about what healthcare is provided in what circumstances and why. And to me, that is the standard on which we decide how we make healthcare decisions, not what the government says you can or can’t do.”
El-Sayed also argued medical autonomy can be seen as a bipartisan issue.
“Even conservatives agree; they just don’t agree when it comes to trans care and reproductive rights,” he said. “Conservatives fought for a very long time for this legislation called ‘Right to Try’ legislation, which was the idea that the government couldn’t tell you [that] you couldn’t have a certain medication if it was available to you. So they agree that the decision about healthcare ought to be between a person and their provider.”
Finally, El-Sayed concluded: “Let’s use that standard and keep to that standard and make sure government doesn’t have the ability to tell you what you can or cannot do with your own body.”
You can see that full exchange below:
Last week, Erin in the Morning reported on over two dozen Democrats running for office who have espoused anti-trans or trans-exclusionary views. Some of these lawmakers also voted in favor of anti-trans or trans-exclusionary policies, such as restrictions on the bathrooms trans people use, the sports teams where trans people play, and the medical care trans people can access through insurance.
This modest exodus—though still far greater than years in the recent past—represents a line being touted by centrist political-consulting elites from groups like Third Way and Searchlight, as well as candidates like the recently defeated Seth Moulton of Massachusetts: that full and equal rights for people regardless of gender identity are too aspirational, that equal rights activists are a political liability to be sidelined, and that supporting equal rights is costing the party votes.
However, as this newsletter has reported many times before, anti-trans activists are betting on Democrats making this political calculation and dragging the nation’s political tolerance rightward. Conservative operatives have openly called trans athletes, for example, a “beginning point” on trans issues. They want to get Americans “comfortable” with anti-trans animus, and from there, they can pull the conversation even further to the right.
It’s not the first time El-Sayed has been asked about transgender people. In August he appeared on Fox News, where he sparred with pundit Jesse Watters on the matter.
“Do you think men should play in women’s sports?” Watters said. “It’s a big issue.”
“It’s insane,” El-Sayed retorted. “I’m here trying to take on the health care crisis and big pharma, and you’re asking me about who gets to play what sport.”
I’m encouraged, very much so, by his words. Words matter in these times. So many of them have been used to hurt us. It’s refreshing when words are being used to support us, to acknowledge our value and dignity.
His answer is the easiest answer to the trans health care question. It's also the right one. Why more Democrats can't answer the question in a way that appeals to (almost) everyone is beyond me.