New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) signed an order Tuesday to protect gender-affirming treatment, with Democrats touting his state as a “safe haven” for transgender people.
Order No. 326 provides protection to anyone who provides or receives gender-affirming treatment, and prohibits health insurance companies from denying or limiting coverage of services, including gender-affirming treatment, because of that person’s gender identity or expression.
Abide over 30,000 transgender adults live in New Jersey, with approximately 1.4 million transgender adults in the US overall, according to the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Refers to LGBTQ+ as well as intersex and asexual people, executive message said, “It is in the public interest of the State to foster a safe and affirming health environment in New Jersey and ensure that members of the LGBTQIA + community today in New Jersey, including transgender and non-binary youth, enjoy equal access to quality health services .”
Under the order, protections also apply to people from out of state who travel to New Jersey for gender-affirming treatment, as it prohibits the extradition of anyone who provides, receives or facilitates such health care services.
New Jersey departments and agencies are prohibited from cooperating with interstate investigations that attempt to hold people responsible for civil or criminal penalties related to gender-affirming treatment in the state.
The governor’s move comes as legislation sweeps the state that aims to ban gender-affirming treatment and limit LGBTQ+ rights and expression. According to American Civil Liberties Unionthere are currently 451 anti-LGBTQ bills in the US that seek to limit access to gender-affirming treatments, drag shows and more.
“Given the growing threat to gender-affirming health care in other countries,” the order said, “It is important that New Jersey protect health care professionals and patients from the potential consequences of providing, receiving, assisting in providing or receiving, seeking, or traveling to obtain gender-affirming health care services.”
Amidst the torrent of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, transgender youth and adults have seeking to travel to obtain a lifesaving procedure that is prohibited where they live. New Jersey is now the second state in the US to effectively become a sanctuary state for transgender people seeking treatment, after California.