Testimony to Protect Delaware Patients
HB 346 protects doctors, not patients
California isn’t the only state working overtime to protect institutions and doctors who perform gender affirming care without regard for individual patient needs. Delaware is in the process of passing HB346, which protects doctors from liability from patients, including patients who continue to identify as trans, but might be harmed from hormones and surgery. For example, if there is a botched surgery, there is no recourse. If/when this bill passes, gender doctors are immune from accountability.
Read the entire bill here.
This is a short article on the bill: Gender-Affirming Care bill moves forward in Delaware)
Synopsis of bill: (copied and pasted from the bill text)
This Act updates House Bill 455 from the 151st General Assembly by providing the same legal protections afforded providers of contraceptive and abortion services to providers of gender-affirming health care.
In summary, this Act does the following:
(1) Clarifies that medical professionals who provide gender-affirming health care cannot be disciplined for such services even if such services are illegal or considered to be unprofessional conduct or the unauthorized practice of medicine in another state, so long as such services are lawful in this State;
(2) Prohibits health care providers from disclosing communications and records concerning gender-affirming health care without the patient’s authorization in any civil action or proceeding, with some exceptions;
(3) Protects health care providers from out-of-state civil actions relating to gender-affirming health care treatment that is legal in Delaware, including the issuance of a summons or the enforcement of subpoenas relating to such cases;
(4) Creates a cause of action for recouperation of out-of-state judgments relating to gender-affirming services that are lawful in Delaware; and
(5) Prohibits insurance companies from taking any adverse action against health care professionals who provide gender-affirming health care services.
I was asked by a policy analyst of the Delaware Family Policy Council to submit a statement because I bring expertise and credentials. Below is my statement:
My name is Pamela Garfield-Jaeger. I’m a licensed clinical social worker with over 20 years of experience in the mental health profession. I became a social worker because I am committed to protecting vulnerable people and that is why I am against HB 346, which protects doctors, not patients, including trans patients.
There is a common belief that a person should go ahead and get risky and painful surgeries, or take puberty blockers and hormones that cause a host of long-term health issues because “at least the person is alive”. The slogan “Affirmative Care Saves Lives” is put on repeat and is seen all over the ACLU and other organizations that promote themselves as the people who supposedly care about protecting the vulnerable. However, by repeating the idea that one can only transition or die by suicide is one of the most irresponsible things an organization can do, and mental health experts have known this for decades.
In this bill, WPATH guidelines are quoted as standard of care. I invite you to review the WPATH files, which reveals in their own words that there is nothing ethical or scientific about WPATH. WPATH willingly does surgeries on severely mentally ill patients. They discuss nullification surgeries and other procedures that any reasonable person would NEVER believe are ethical. Should people with complications from these surgeries have no recourse? Aren’t these the people we care about? I do.
Everything the gender medicine industry is doing is experimental, from puberty blockers to cross sex hormones to surgeries. None of it is FDA approved. I wonder what the motivation is to protect doctors who are administering experimental procedures on severely mentally ill patients is. Its certainly NOT about protecting trans rights.
A one-size fits all approach to patient care will always bring about casualties. How many people living a life of disability, suffering, infertility, or death is OK for you?
Please think about who this bill is really protecting and do the right thing for the voiceless who have been silenced by powerful activists.
Thank you.
Unfortunately, the bill passed the committee. The representative of Delaware Family Policy Council sent me this after the hearing, “The actual legislators in support outnumbered those in opposition. It ultimately passed the committee.”
Do you live in Delaware and care about the well-being of vulnerable patients, (trans or not?) Get in touch with Delaware Family Policy Council and let your voice be heard!
Pamela Garfield-Jaeger is a licensed clinical social worker in California. She completed her MSW in 1999 from New York University. She has a variety of experience in schools, group homes, hospitals and community-based organizations as a clinician and supervisor. Since getting fired for not getting the C*VID vaccine, she has dedicated herself to educate parents and embolden other mental health professionals to challenge the ideological capture of her profession.
For more detailed information on how to empower yourself as a parent and navigate the mental health field, see the Parents' Guide to Mental Health.
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