Washington Bill Protecting Runaways Obtaining Gender Affirming Care Or Abortion Passes House

A new kind of bill, SB5599, just passed the House in Washington. It protects the rights of trans teenagers who enter licensed shelters from being reported to parents.

Washington state's House passed SB5599, a groundbreaking bill that would eliminate the compulsory parental notification requirement for licensed shelters and host homes housing runaways seeking gender-affirming care or abortion. This legislation, unprecedented in any state, signifies a significant advancement for transgender minors' rights and those pursuing abortions. Previously, transgender runaway youths faced sleeping outdoors or engaging in perilous living situations because licensed shelters had to report them to their parents. If enacted, this bill would allow these youths to enter shelters and host homes without fear of being reported to their parents, preventing forced detransition or maintaining an unwanted pregnancy.

Senate bill 5599 primarily deals with how the state should handle runaway youth that end up in licensed shelters, host home programs, and group-care facilities. Transgender youth have extremely high rates of homelessness. In a recent Trevor project report, 28% of LGBTQ+ youth report homelessness at some point in their lives. 16% of LGBTQ+ youth have run away from home, with half of them reporting that they ran away because of mistreatment due to their LGBTQ+ identity. That number is even higher for transgender youth: 38% of transgender youth report homelessness and housing instability.

Under current law in Washington, if these youth end up in a shelter, the shelter has to report them to their parents. Only if there is active abuse or neglect could the state determine not to do so. Senate Bill 5599 adds an exception to the parental notification requirement: whenever youth have obtained or are attempting to obtain gender affirming care or abortion services.

See the following provisions in the bill:

Provisions in SB5599 that would protect trans kids or those seeking abortions from being reported.

Unsurprisingly, right-wing figures erupted, claiming that the bill allows the state to “take kids from parents who don’t affirm their gender.” Caitlyn Jenner called it “an absolute disgrace.”

Donald Trump Junior tweeted of the bill, “These sick bastards are evil. WTF happened to “reasonable” or “moderate” democrats? Washington passes bill allowing the state to TAKE CHILDREN AWAY FROM PARENTS that do not consent to their child's gender transition surgeries...”

These claims are not born out of the facts though. The bill does not change anything about child custody law or modify existing child abuse statutes. It does not allow the state to come into a home and take away transgender kids from non-affirming parents. It also does not change the state’s existing mature minor law, which allows some youth to consent to gender affirming care and abortion services under 18 already. Instead, it allows trans youth who have already run away to seek shelter rather than sleep on the streets without being reported to parents. Given the aforementioned very high homelessness rates of trans youth runaways, this is a compassionate decision that will give them shelter.

It also will protect against forced detransition and abuse. The majority of LGBTQ+ youth who run away from home report that they did so because of mistreatment or fear of mistreatment. Transgender youth immediately reported and returned to such parents might then be withdrawn from medication and forced to detransition, an incredibly traumatic process for these youth. Instead, this bill allows these youth to seek care without fear that they will be turned in or forced off of that care.

With so much of the country moving to forcibly detransition all trans youth in the state, Washington is breaking from that and taking a different path. Last week, the state passed legislation shielding abortion and gender-affirming care refugees from other states against investigation and extradition. The state is now poised to enact one of the most substantial protections for transgender youth in the U.S. The amended bill must return to the Senate for final passage, but if approved, it could serve as a model for other states seeking to enhance protections for transgender individuals.