“Federal Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program money can no longer be used for certain gender-affirming care to young people in Virginia and other states, after a new U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rule took effect on Oct. 13.”

“Though about half of U.S. states restrict gender affirming care for minors, there are about 133,000 transgender youth in states without bans, including Virginia, that use Medicaid or CHIP coverage for their care, according to KFF Health News.”

“Del. Rodney Willett, D-Henrico noted that the state ‘shouldn’t have had to’ ‘plug the (ACA) subsidy gap,’ but federal actions prompted lawmakers to do what they could. He supports the ACLU’s call for the state to take the same tack concerning trans youth care. 

“Willett chairs the House Health and Human Services Committee and co-chairs a subcommittee in the House Appropriations Committee. His insights can help shape which bills advance and which budget items get funded. 

“Whether or not the money will be able to be there, however, is the question.”

“Willett said he hopes state lawmakers may be able to allocate some funding during its 2027 legislative session to aid affected families, but preliminary conversations have not yet started.”

me and this new friend(?) of mine recently got into a debate of transgender people and the meaning of gender.

he said that he thinks transitioning “has its cons” but he is friends with trans people and respects them. he also views gender as very black and white. i personally, think the opposite. gender affirming care is life saving and gender is a social construct that fits everyone differently.

we decided to agree to disagree, but i still feel weird about it. i don’t want to be friends or ass with someone who is iffy on the rights of trans people.

should i stop talking to him? or do i agree to disagree?

added a random link because this server requires it

(I'm sure you're as fed up of reading the #BWOT series as I am of writing them, but the only thing I can realistically do as the UK eliminates the concept of trans - and hence the existence of trans people - is to write it all down. This is the latest)

In yet another development in the continuing British War On Trans (#BWOT), the NHS in England has issued guidelines that severely restrict accommodation and spaces for trans patients and trans members of staff. Because British cruelty must always be accompanied by hypocrisy, this is characterised as "privacy, dignity and safety".

The links are in the article. If you know of others or see any mistakes, please tell me in the comments of that article. I'll update as things go.

“A split federal appeals court panel on Thursday revived two Virginia school boards’ lawsuits against the Education Department challenging threatened federal funding changes over their policies concerning transgender students.

“It wipes a judge’s finding that school boards in Fairfax County and Arlington County — located in the suburbs of the nation’s capital — sued in the wrong place and needed to raise their arguments before a specialty court with exclusive authority to hear government contract disputes. 

“The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit voted 2-1 that it was improper, but the majority stressed it was going ‘no further,’ and it has yet to be seen whether the counties’ lawsuits will succeed. 

“‘Because the school districts have asserted some claims that are not at their essence contractual, the district court erred in dismissing these complaints in full for lack of jurisdiction,’ U.S. Circuit Judge Allison Jones Rushing wrote. 

“The school boards sued last year after the Trump administration placed them in ‘high-risk status’ over their refusals to change policies that allow transgender students in the bathrooms and locker rooms of their choosing.”

“When the horn sounded, signaling the start of a Tuesday afternoon 5k cross-country race, about half of the girls wearing Camas High School singlets hung back. A pack of runners separated from them within seconds. They didn’t follow.

“Instead, they walked off the start line, forfeiting their race in protest of their transgender teammate’s participation.
The protest, which involved approximately a dozen girls on the Camas High School cross-country team, came on the heels of mounting attention directed toward a transgender sophomore on the girls team.

“The student has been the subject of a flurry of social media posts made by people raising questions about competitive fairness and state policy involving transgender athletes. She competed in the boys category on Sept. 5 before switching to the girls team after the season was underway. The Seattle Times is not naming the student because she is a minor who has not given her consent to be identified.”

“Washington state has a longstanding policy that allows athletes to participate in the category consistent with their gender identity. A Camas School District spokesperson said that The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s rules had not been violated. The WIAA, the state’s governing body of interscholastic sports, said it had not received an eligibility challenge and confirmed that its gender identity policy does not prohibit an in-season switch.”

“Next month, Washington voters will weigh in on the future of transgender athletes in youth sports via I-638, an initiative sponsored by Let’s Go Washington. If passed, the ballot measure titled ‘Defending Equity in Interscholastic Sports Act’ would ban transgender girls from competing in K-12 sports and require that students submit medical documentation that verifies their ‘biological sex,’ according to the initiative’s language.”

“Tuesday’s walk-off wasn’t the first protest seen at a Camas meet this season. On Sept. 15, the first documented time that the athlete competed in the girl’s category, two athletes and a parent from the opposing team protested her participation.”

“The father of one of the Skyview athletes brought a sign to the race that referenced chromosomes, reading ‘Please only XX competing against XX, XY competing with XY, keep it fair.’ Joel Retzlaff told [conservative podcaster Brandi] Kruse in an interview that he was given a criminal trespass notice after holding up his sign and later chanting ‘keep boys out of girls sports’ after he was told to put the sign away.

“The Camas School District confirmed that a criminal trespass notice was issued, writing that Retzlaff was asked to leave school property because of “disruptive behavior.” After leaving, he got into his car and drove through a taped-off area, nearly hitting a security staff member, according to the school district.”

“Election season means a lot of unwanted text messages, usually soliciting donations or votes for a political party or candidate.

“This week, some Texans reported receiving texts about ‘gender-affirming care in Texas’ and a ‘complete guide on bathrooms and beyond for trans kids at school.’ Those messages included links to the website of the Transgender Education Network of Texas, or TENT.”

“TENT confirmed those suspicions Wednesday afternoon: The texts were not sent by the group.”

“The group said that the texts led to ‘an onslaught of hate and threats,’ and noted that [it] is investigating who sent the messages.”

“In response to these texts, Republican state rep. Jeff Leach announced Tuesday night that he requested for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to investigate the group. Leach and Paxton are both running in the current election.”

“Trans patients should be cared for on single-sex hospital wards or bays that align with their biological sex rather than their gender identity, according to new NHS England (NHSE) guidance.

“It says when this is not ‘clinically appropriate’ then alternative arrangements should be made and the dignity and safety of all patients should be maintained.

“The guidance also says staff facilities should be used by people based on their biological sex, while trusts should ensure enough alternatives to single-sex facilities, such as single-occupancy toilets, are offered.

“Previous NHSE guidance suggested patients and staff could be accommodated on wards or use facilities based on their gender identity.”

“Pressures on hospitals mean many have already struggled to keep wards single sex.

“NHSE data shows that the number of breaches of the previous mixed-sex accommodation guidance has been growing every year since 2021- where members of the opposite sex were placed on a single-sex ward.

“The most recent figure for August 2026 shows there were 5,520 breaches, compared to 3,853 in June 2025.”

“The NHS has been at the centre of a number of high-profile arguments over the interpretation of equality law and workplace regulations.”

“Beth Bourne, the Yolo County Moms for Liberty chair who is running for a seat on the Davis school board, now faces criminal charges in two counties following her arrest Tuesday afternoon in Sonoma.

“Sonoma police took Bourne into custody on suspicion of trespassing on school grounds at Sonoma Valley High School, where she was counter-protesting at a planned student walkoutover a recent school board decision to remove a pride flag from the campus.”

“Meanwhile, Bourne also is due in Yolo Superior Court on Monday morning for arraignment on two misdemeanor counts of disobeying a court order.

“The Enterprise previously reported that the Davis Police Department received two reports on June 21 alleging multiple violations of a year-long civil harassment restraining order obtained against Bourne by local parent Jessica Murray.”

This was released last week, but was updated yesterday with additional details as to why they unendorsed her:

“Basic Rights Oregon’s PAC board learned that during private Portland Public Schools (PPS) Board meetings, Brim-Edwards raised concerns that trans athletes might hurt scholarship opportunities for other kids, a false claim that mirrors language used by Trump and his allies. Brim-Edwards also encouraged PPS to consider stricter guidelines for trans athletes to participate in sports, contrary to state guidelines.

“Because individuals would jeopardize their roles at PPS by speaking publicly, the PAC board agreed to confidential individual briefings to verify the accounts' accuracy. Basic Rights Oregon PAC takes both that confidentiality and its responsibility to the LGBTQ2SIA+ community seriously. The inability to publicly share those details does not change the Board’s responsibility to act when new information calls an endorsement into question.

“All of our kids, including trans kids, deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. We need to elect leaders who recognize that all kids belong and should have the opportunity to participate in youth sports and other school activities. Families of trans folks are moving to Oregon expecting safety, the largest and most powerful county in the state should have their backs.”