• autismdragon [he/him, they/them]@hexbear.net
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    1 year ago

    Can you explain how its nothing? I read the article and it sounds decently substantial. Like I agree there’s MUCH more he could do with executive power here but it doesnt seem like a complete nothingburger to me.

    • nat_turner_overdrive [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      1 year ago

      The executive order calls on the U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services to increase access to gender-affirming care and develop ways to counter state efforts aimed at limiting such treatments for transgender minors.

      Increasing access is liberal speak for doing nothing, or at best ensuring that expensive services are “accessible” if you have enough money.

      The federal health department will release sample policies for states to expand health care options for LGBTQ patients. The federal education department will release a sample school policy to achieve full inclusion of LGBTQ students.

      These are not policies - they are sample policies, as in, “here’s what would be nice, now please tell us why we shouldn’t have just already done that” and they’ll walk it back to some inane non-committment to anything.

      This article doesn’t have much detail so I’m switching to the WH press release:

      President Biden is charging HHS with leading an initiative to reduce the risk of youth exposure to this dangerous practice.

      This is in response to conversion therapy. Biden could have signed an order declaring it illegal and instructing the FBI to immediately begin investigations into every conversion therapy practice to identify abuse and abusers, with interviews with the victims of the abuse. Instead, he’s told agencies to investigate plans to do the thing he has directly in his power but will never do.

      President Biden is also encouraging the Federal Trade Commission to consider whether the practice constitutes an unfair or deceptive act or practice, and whether to issue consumer warnings or notices.

      TO CONSIDER

      And, he is directing the Secretaries of State, Treasury, and HHS to develop an action plan to promote an end to so-called “conversion therapy” around the world and ensure that U.S. foreign assistance dollars do not fund the practice.

      AN ACTION PLAN

      . To safeguard access to health care for LGBTQI+ patients and address the LGBTQI+ youth mental health crisis, President Biden is charging HHS with taking steps to address the barriers and exclusionary policies that LGBTQI+ individuals and families face in accessing quality, affordable, comprehensive health care, including mental health care, reproductive health care, and HIV prevention and treatment. The President’s Order charges HHS to work with states to promote expanded access to gender-affirming care. It also charges HHS to help prevent LGBTQI+ suicide by expanding youth access to suicide prevention resources, and to issue new guidance through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration on providing evidence-informed mental health care for LGBTQI+ youth.

      CHARGED WITH TAKING STEPS

      PROMOTE EXPANDED ACCESS

      NEW GUIDANCE

      I could keep going, but this is the reality: his order is nothing. It does not name specific changes, it does not ban or forbid anything, it does not rescue anyone from peril, it does not prevent that peril from occurring in the future. These are worthless, do-nothing words to pantomime the real actions he is refusing to do. This is can kicking. This is tasking bureaucracy with writing some reports that will be ignored, but the EO will be on his list of accomplishments. This is what the Democrats have done with every single real issue, be it gay marriage, trans rights, healthcare, police violence - the only thing they will ever do is going through the motions of pretending to care and act.