White House says bills preventing child sex changes are 'a dangerous attack on the rights of parents'

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Thursday said that bills across the nation banning medicalized gender transitions for minors are "a dangerous attack on the rights of parents."

"This is a dangerous a dangerous attack on the rights of parents to make the best health care decisions for their own kids," said Jean-Pierre.

Jean-Pierre also stated that LGBTQ youth are "resilient" and "not going anywhere," making clear that the Biden administration will continue to advocate for children making irreversible life-altering decisions with their bodies. 

Jean-Pierre cited statistics from the Human Rights Campaign, which reports that over 50 percent of transgender youth in the US, estimated to be more than 150,000 kids, live in states where they have lost access to or are at risk of losing access to so-called "gender-affirming care."

"This is awful news. Let's be very clear about that," Jean Pierre said. "LGBTQI+ kids are resilient. They are fierce, they fight back. They're not going anywhere. And we have their back. This administration has their back."

Jean Pierre commended the youth across the country who have organized protests and school walkouts to challenge legislation from democratically elected governments. She said that these political attacks can take a toll on the mental health of LGBTQI+ youth, saying "I want to say directly to LGBTQI+ kids, you are loved just as you are, just the way you are."

During a press conference on Wednesday, Jean Pierre was asked about President Biden's position on medicalized gender transitions for minors. In response, she stated that it is up to the child and their parents to decide, and that legislators should not be making these decisions. Jean Pierre expressed the administration's commitment to fighting for the rights of trans kids and the LGBTQI+ community more broadly, emphasizing that "no one should have to be brave just to be themselves."

"That’s something for a child and their parents to decide. It’s not something that we believe should be decided by legislators, so I’ll leave it there," Jean-Pierre responded.

"But, well, you know, in the past couple of months, we have seen a record number of LGBTQI bills, anti-LGBTQI bills, more than 600 of them have been filed in state houses, and a significant number of them have been anti-trans bills and, you know, targeted at youth."

"This is a president that has said that when these — these are some of the bravest people he knows, but no one should have to be brave just to be themselves. And so this is a president that has been committed to this community and has been committed to our kids in the trans community, to trans kids, and he’s going to continue to fight for them."

"But again, I’m just gonna leave it there," she concluded.

Following the fatal shooting at a Nashville Christian school carried out by Audrey Hale last month, who identified as transgender, Jean-Pierre proclaimed that the transgender community was "under attack" by so-called "anti-trans bills" across the nation.