Valentine Unclear on Transgender Healthcare, But Still the Best Choice for Missouri

Trudy Busch Valentine, being the Democratic candidate for Missouri’s Senate seat, is expected to be a fierce advocate for the LGBTQ+ community; however, she seems to be having trouble communicating her true position. While Valentine’s official campaign message paints her as an ally to the community, the language that she has used in debates and town halls gives LGBTQ+ individuals a reason to remain wary.

Valentine’s campaign page offers her opinions on a variety of issues, one of which is “Standing with the LGBTQ Community.” In it, she says “...transgender children should be able to access gender-affirming care in line with the recommendations of medical experts like the American Academy of Pediatrics.” She links to an article detailing the AAP’s recommendations, which are favorable to transgender children and individuals. The AAP has filed multiple amicus briefs in favor of the repeal of laws banning gender-affirming care for individuals under 18 and sports participation according to an individual’s gender identity. Trudy Busch Valentine supporting their position is a step in the right direction for advocating for the LGBTQ+ community.

Nonetheless, Valentine has also made controversial statements about healthcare for transgender individuals. On July 23, 2022, at a ward meeting in St. Louis, Valentine said, “If a man feels that they’re a woman and wants to become a woman, I respect that. And I respect it the opposite way too. Those are things that have to be solved amongst families and amongst parents.” She also said, “I only would say, wait until 18, when a person is an adult, to do everything that wouldn’t allow going back to being maybe the sex that you were. But I totally, totally support transgenders without a doubt and the LGBT community.” Although Valentine claims to have respect for transgender individuals, it’s difficult to digest these statements, which label transgender women as men and recommend transgender children wait until they are 18 to receive gender-affirming healthcare (which goes against the AAP recommendations that Valentine claims to support).

However, these statements were made two months ago, and Valentine’s position may have changed to one with greater respect for transgender individuals. Since the July meeting, Valentine has received the support of the Human Rights Campaign, an organization that “works every day to elect pro-equality leaders who support politics that support the rights and lives of LGBTQ+ people.”

Ultimately, we expect Valentine to vote along party lines when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights, which makes her the best candidate in this race for LGBTQ+ individuals. Even if her personal beliefs about the LGBTQ+ community do not identify with what her campaign claims, we know that she is more supportive of the community than Eric Schmitt, who, in 2019, signed a court brief stating that LGBTQ+ individuals are not protected from workplace discrimination. (hyperlink)

Once again, we encourage you to vote for Trudy Busch Valentine on November 8th. If you need to register to vote, you can do it here before the October 12th deadline. If you will not be able to vote on November 8th, you should request an absentee ballot, and directions to do that can be found here. Have a topic you want us to cover? Let us know in the comments, and tell us what you think about Valentine's position on transgender healthcare.