Rep. Forhan Recognizes Recent Publications of Research Regarding Trans Issues

COLUMBUS – State Rep. Elliot Forhan (D-South Euclid) today highlighted the publication of a JAMA Network Open article, titled “Early Access to Testosterone Therapy in Transgender and Gender-Diverse Adults Seeking Masculinization,” and a Smithsonian Magazine article, titled “New Research Reveals How the Nazis Targeted Transgender People.” 

“Trans freedom is a matter of life and death,” said Rep. Forhan. “That was true in Hitler’s Germany, and it’s true today. It sickens me that anyone continues to try to hurt our trans friends and family. The Ohio House should reject House Bill 245. The Ohio Senate should reject House Bills 8 and 68. And the Cleveland Catholic Diocese should rescind its anti-queer policy. I stand with Ohio’s trans community.”

The JAMA article demonstrates that access to gender-affirming care saves lives, and the Smithsonian article describes evidence presented in a 2022 court proceeding that demonstrates, perhaps for the first time, that the Nazis targeted for persecution and murder transgender Germans.

The JAMA study found a large decrease in gender dysphoria, depression and suicidality in people who received hormone therapy immediately compared to those which received delayed treatment. Germany’s national legislature commemorated, after the presentation of the evidence described in the Smithsonian article, the trans and other queer victims of Nazi persecution.