NW Illinois News

Sen. Andrew Chesney (R-Freeport) is questioning a state agency’s event titled “Dispelling Myths Around Gender-Affirming Care For Youth.”

Chesney said that while adults have the right to make their own decisions, children should not be involved in irreversible medical procedures.

“These types of reactions require counseling and require love and need the family to figure out what’s going on in this young child’s mind that makes them feel this way,” Chesney told The Center Square. “The idea that the government is going to step in and normalize that and then provide a conduit for life altering procedures is not only dangerous, but I would argue is child abuse.”

The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) is hosting the event. "Dispelling Myths Around Gender-Affirming Care for Youth,” set to take place on June 27, is not open to the public, according to an IDHS spokesperson. The flier promoting the event includes logos of IDHS, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). The event aims to address misconceptions and provide information on gender-affirming care for youth, explore the importance of adult support, and discuss existing resources for transgender and non-binary youth in Illinois. IDHS covers gender-affirming procedures for youth under 21 on a case-by-case basis if deemed medically necessary. In Washington, a bill was signed to protect patients and providers of gender-affirming care from out-of-state prosecution, and in California, where lawmakers are considering a measure to remove custody from parents who do not affirm their child's gender identity.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has been criticized for his position on parental notification for abortion and gender reassignment surgery for minors. In last year’s gubernatorial debates, GOP challenger Darren Bailey argued that parents should have the authority to make decisions about their children's healthcare, rather than doctors, teachers, or governors, Prairie State Wire reported. Pritzker, through a non-profit foundation, has directly funded gender reassignment at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. The hospital which was accused of promoting gender ideology and providing materials to schools promoting radical gender theory. Billboard Chris, a father who opposes gender ideology, protested outside the hospital, claiming that children cannot give informed consent to the use of puberty blockers and that gender ideology is based on stereotypes. Additionally, documents released by Manhattan Institute Fellow Chris Rufo alleged that Lurie Children's Hospital distributed materials promoting gender theory and sexually explicit content in several Chicago-area school systems.

Other states have blocked sex changes in children. Earlier this year Florida has become the eighth state to impose restrictions on sex changes for children including the use of puberty blockers and hormone therapy, according to NBC News. The Florida Board of Medicine implemented a rule prohibiting minors from starting such treatments. The rule also prohibits gender-affirming operations for all minors.

The measure has sparked a legal challenge from parents. That law has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge. Judge Robert Hinkle said, "Gender identity is real." The restrictions on sex change operations, procedures, and medications are part of a broader effort in Florida to limit such treatment of children, including a ban on Medicaid coverage for gender dysphoria treatments and a proposed bill in the Legislature that would further restrict care for minors and bar state funds from covering transition-related care for patients of any age.