U.S. conservatives are using Canadian research to justify anti-trans laws
CBC
On a Friday afternoon in Nashville last October, several hundred people gathered in a plaza near the state capitol for an event billed as the "Rally to End Child Mutilation."
The rally was organized by a right-wing pundit who had been claiming the transgender care clinic at a Nashville hospital was drugging and mutilating children.
Local media outlets debunked the claims. But on the day of the rally, people showed up with signs accusing the clinic's doctors of being "groomers"; one sign called for them to be killed.
The crowd, according to published reports, was a mix of religious conservatives, masked members of the Proud Boys and the leaders of the Republican state caucus.
By the end of the rally, the politicians had vowed to ban what's known as gender-affirming care for minors, which usually involves hormone treatments rather than surgery.
Within months, a ban was signed into law.
Civil rights groups promptly challenged it in court, arguing a ban on puberty blockers and hormone therapy would cause "irreparable harm."
They pointed out that the reigning medical consensus considers these treatments safe and effective for teens with severe gender dysphoria. (They did not challenge the ban on gender-affirming surgeries for minors.)
In its response, the state didn't call on pundits or preachers, or repeat sensational claims about child mutilation
Instead, it turned to a roster of experts known for questioning mainstream medical opinion under oath — including Toronto psychologist James Cantor.
Cantor is one of the most in-demand witnesses for states defending their transgender policies in court.
Since 2021, he's testified in 25 different cases, including for West Virginia, Indiana and Utah as they defended laws that bar trans students from school sports. He testified for Oklahoma last year as it defended restrictions on which bathroom trans students can use.
More recently, Cantor has been called on by several states that are defending their bans on gender-affirming care in court, Tennessee among them.
"I will give the science to whoever it is that asks," Cantor said in a recent interview at his Toronto office.
