Advocates for Youth strongly condemns the so-called “Parents’ Bill of Rights Act” that is being debated and voted by the House floor this week. The lawmakers introducing this so-called “parents’ rights” bill in the House are the same who are seeking to further ban abortion, attack LGBTQ rights, restrict access to gender-affirming healthcare, remove books and history lessons from libraries and schools, and who are also trying to ban birth control.

Advocates for Youth is appalled to see that the attacks on transgender young people have escalated to Congress. We are strongly opposed to H.R. 734, a harmful and discriminatory federal bill that would create a blanket ban under Title IX to prevent transgender women and girls- at all levels of education- from playing on sports teams consistent with their gender identity.

We are outraged and deeply saddened by the anti-trans bills that have passed in the Tennessee Legislature  and in Kentucky’s House of Representatives. Shame on the legislators who passed these bills and on Governor Bill Lee, who signed Tennessee’s into law. We urge Kentucky’s Senate and, ultimately, Governor Andy Beshear to oppose their state’s harmful bill as it progresses through the legislature.

We honor the life of Tyre Nichols, a son and father brutally murdered by police. Tyre Nichols joins far, far too many others whose lives have been taken by a system that preys on Black communities. Charges against the officers are not enough - the system itself must be dismantled.

Advocates for Youth applauds today’s reintroduction of the EACH (Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Care) Act, legislation which lifts bans on abortion coverage, led by Representatives Lee (D-CA), Degette (D-CO), Shackowsky (D-IL), and Pressley (D-MA) in the House. We are proud to support this groundbreaking legislation to undo harmful restrictions on federal funding for abortion care and help ensure that all people, no matter their income, how they are insured, and where they live, have access to the healthcare they need. 

Today, on what should be a celebration of Lunar New Year for Asian American communities around the country and people around the world, we mourn with the people of California after the devastating shooting in Monterey Park.