The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued a statement calling for the repeal of North Carolina’s controversial “bathroom bill,” otherwise known as the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act, or HB2. Signed into law by Gov.
Pat McCrory on March 23, the law nullifies a Charlotte, North Carolina, ordinance that protected the right of transgender people to use the bathroom of their choice. It also prevents local communities from enacting broader legal protections for the LGBT community than those defined in state law and rescinds all such protections currently in place.
Discrimination in employment, housing or public accommodation based on sexual orientation is not specifically prohibited by North Carolina state law.
The statement calling for the law’s repeal was issued jointly by American Academy of Pediatrics, which represents 64,000 physicians nationwide, and the North Carolina chapter, which represents approximately 2,000 pediatricians in the state. According to chapter president Deborah Ainsworth, M.D., the North Carolina board unanimously approved the statement, which it believes is necessary to protect vulnerable LGBT youth.
“As pediatricians, we know first-hand how increasing burdens and barriers for youth who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender can increase their risk of depression, substance abuse, dropping out of school, or suicide,” she said in a statement on April 18. “We all have a fundamental responsibility to support and nurture children and adolescents to ensure that they can grow and develop into healthy adults,” she added. “Laws like HB2 send a distressing message to transgender youth and can worsen the challenges many already face. We must do better for North Carolina's young people. They're counting on us."
The American Academy of Pediatrics has been actively advocating for the rights of LGBT youth for years. In the face of the growing trend towards increasingly discriminatory laws in certain parts of the United States, in February it joined several youth-advocacy groups in a letter urging governors across the U.S. to oppose and, if necessary, veto any bill that allows discrimination against the LGBT community. The letter, which referred to bills such as HB2 as “shameful,” was also signed by the American Counseling Association, the Child Welfare League of America, the National Education Association and the National Association of School Psychologists.
The AAP joins a long list of businesses and organizations that have expressed outrage over HB2, some of which have promised to cease operations in North Carolina if the bill is not repealed. Adding to the pressure on the state legislature were statements from the Obama administration, which is reportedly considering whether the law -- which violates federal statutes that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation -- will affect federal funding for the state. According to Department of Education spokesperson Dorie Nolt, the agency is reviewing the North Carolina law “to determine any potential impact on the state’s federal education funding,” which totalled $4.3 billion in 2015. “We will not hesitate to act if students’ civil rights are being violated,” she said.