Madison Pauly

@msjpauly

Reporter covering gender and politics at @motherjones.com, part of the Center for Investigative Reporting Tips to mpauly at motherjones dot com Signal: madisonpauly.15

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Madison Pauly@msjpauly· 29d

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A screenshot of the NPR story reads: "That pressure has come in the form of this proposed rule, another rule that would bar federal Medicaid reimbursement for transgender pediatric patients, and a declaration from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that aimed to redefine the standard of care. (Interestingly, the press release issued when those actions were unveiled in December is now missing from the HHS website, as is the Kennedy declaration document.)"

Madison Pauly@msjpauly· May 27

Had a blast last night at the Sports Emmys with @pablo.show's hilarious and talented crew. Such an honor to be there!

Madison Pauly@msjpauly· Mar 31

To be clear, there's been a medical consensus for years that conversion therapy 1) doesn't actually work 2) is associated with serious mental health harms, including suicidality. More in this story www.motherjones.com/politics/202... and this one www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

The science on conversion therapy is unambiguous: it’s both ineffective and dangerous. All the way back in 2009, an American Psychological Association task force issued a landmark report documenting the lack of evidence behind sexual orientation “change efforts,” as scientists refer to them. Since then, APA has only strengthened its stance against both anti-gay and anti-trans conversion efforts. In October 2015, the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration published a report concluding that sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts were “coercive, can be harmful, and should not be part of behavioral health treatment.”

Madison Pauly@msjpauly· Mar 25

Holy cow my investigation into Riley Gaines for @pablo.show was nominated for an Emmy in Outstanding Sports Journalism!!! Cannot stop dancing around my apartment. Here's the show if you missed it! www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKUl...

Madison Pauly@msjpauly· Jan 16

Taking a break from my Work Posts Only rule because my January (!) tomato haul is too pretty not to share.

a basket of green-to-orange sungold tomatoes

Madison Pauly@msjpauly· Nov 19

Cw: suicide This article is devastating. Earlier this month, a 15-year-old died by suicide the day after posting about a substitute teacher insisting on misgendering him. Suicide can have many contributing factors. His family is speaking out about bullying and misgendering as two.

Madison Pauly@msjpauly· Nov 19

We finally know the identities of the 9 anonymous authors of the May HHS report on pediatric gender-affirming care. Surprise! It's stacked with people who make money advocating against pediatric gender-affirming care. Here's our writeup from May: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Madison Pauly@msjpauly· Nov 10

Powerful from @katelynburns.com on the death of Lia Smith. I'll never forget watching an anti-trans mvmt leader try to reassure her allies that trans youth "are not suicidal because of us." Now, they either deny trans people's suffering or call it a kind of abuse. www.teenvogue.com/story/politi...

Excerpt from Teen Vogue article: "There are some professional transphobes who have deluded themselves into thinking that there is no evidence that trans people do anything more than threaten to take their own lives to manipulate others into getting our way. Those of us on the ground, who have trans friends, who are up all night making sure a trans friend having a mental crisis is able to work their way through it, know the truth."

Madison Pauly@msjpauly· Jun 18

In her dissent, Sotomayor fact-checks the argument that Norway, Sweden, and England have turned against gender-affirming care for minors. "None," she points out, "has categorically banned doctors from providing patients with all gender-affirming care where medically necessary."

The majority and JUSTICE THOMAS make much of recent changes to
the routine provision of gender-affirming care to minors in Norway, Sweden, and England. Ante, at 3–4, 23; ante, at 13–14 (concurring opinion).
While all three countries have committed to researching further the risks
and benefits of prescribing puberty blockers and hormones to adolescents, none has categorically banned doctors from providing patients
with all gender-affirming care where medically necessary. See Brief for
Foreign Non-Profit Organizations as Amici Curiae 4–13.

Madison Pauly@msjpauly· Jun 18

Sotomayor pushes back on this in her dissent, writing that the court's analysis "may well suggest that a law depriving all individuals who ‘have ever, or may someday, menstruate’ of access to health insurance would be sex neutral." Roberts quibbles with the comparison in a footnote.

The dissent argues that our analysis “may well suggest that a law
depriving all individuals who ‘have ever, or may someday, menstruate’ of access to health insurance would be sex neutral merely because not all women menstruate.” Post, at 23–24 (opinion of SOTOMAYOR, J.). But such a law is different from both SB1 and the law at issue in Geduldig. As we have explained, SB1 regulates certain medical treatments, see Tenn. Code Ann. §68–33–103(a)(1); Geduldig involved a state disability insurance system that excluded certain pregnancy-related disabilities from coverage, see 417 U. S., at 487–489. The dissent’s hypothetical law, in contrast, does not regulate a class of treatments or conditions. Rather, it regulates a class of persons identified on the basis of a specified characteristic. Neither our analysis nor Geduldig speaks to a law that classifies on such a basis.

Madison Pauly@msjpauly· Jun 18

Roberts' opinion in Skrmetti splits hairs to say that banning treatment for gender dysphoria isn't discrimination based on transgender status. Same as how the court held in the 70s that excluding pregnancy-related disabilities from insurance coverage isn't sex discrimination.

By the same token, SB1 does not exclude any individual
from medical treatments on the basis of transgender status
but rather removes one set of diagnoses—gender dysphoria,
gender identity disorder, and gender incongruence—from
the range of treatable conditions. SB1 divides minors into
two groups: those who might seek puberty blockers or hormones to treat the excluded diagnoses, and those who might
seek puberty blockers or hormones to treat other conditions.
See Tenn. Code Ann. §68–33–103. Because only
transgender individuals seek puberty blockers and hormones for the excluded diagnoses, the first group includes
only transgender individuals; the second group, in contrast,
encompasses both transgender and nontransgender individuals.

Madison Pauly@msjpauly· Jun 14

Powerful moment as Rep. Lateefah Simon addresses the rally at Frank Ogawa Plaza. “You cannot shame a city that was raised by the Panthers,” she says, to a roar. “You cannot erase a history written with the blood of working people.”

Madison Pauly@msjpauly· Jun 14

This is Apollo’s first protest. He’s here to dispel stigma.

Madison Pauly@msjpauly· Jun 14

This federal employee came in disguise. “I would be fired on the spot for showing up here today.” She says half her team has been fired since January, though the workload hasn’t changed. “But it’s not about me,” she says. “It’s about the country.”

Madison Pauly@msjpauly· Jun 14

Here’s David Gifford, 75, Air Force veteran. He’s here “primarily for the threat to the Constitution,” he tells me. “I took an oath to protect it and I never undid that oath.” Of Trump, he scoffs: “He’s a draft dodger.”

Madison Pauly@msjpauly· Jun 14

Reina, of Mexican and Native American ancestry, started protesting in 2006. It’s something she wants to teach the girls in her family (ages 7, 8, and 9) “I’m all about the kids, keeping them safe.” The red handprints are a reminder of missing and murdered indigenous women.

Madison Pauly@msjpauly· Jun 14

Kevin and Christina, marching through Oakland’s Chinatown, held signs saying “fight fascism” in many languages. “The Southeast Asian community tends to not attend these types of events for fear,” Kevin says. “We’re standing up for the people who can’t protest,” Christina adds.

Madison Pauly@msjpauly· Jun 14

Judy DeVries, 80, wore her ID card from the 1968 Democratic convention, where she worked for the anti-war candidate. “I needed to be around all these people,” she told me. “I’ve been so heartsick. I’ve been at this so long. How can this be happening?”

Madison Pauly@msjpauly· Jun 14

“Our values of justice and love are being assaulted,” says Rev. Kevin Alan Mann, of the First Unitarian Church of Oakland. Queer and trans folks have been coming into the congregation lately, seeking comfort. “People are needing to know there’s still a safe space in this world.”

Madison Pauly@msjpauly· Jun 14

Oakland loves a protest. Evaline Flamer went to her first (against CA Prop 8) as a toddler, the day after her uncles got married. She’s glad to be back home from college for this one. “There’s something about a community coming together.”

Madison Pauly@msjpauly· Jun 14

I am here in beautiful downtown Oakland California for the gigantic #nokings march through downtown. Grabbing a spot with signal to share pics and conversations with folks I’ve met.

Madison Pauly@msjpauly· Apr 14

cw: suicide @hencarnell.bsky.social and I spent the last 3 months speaking to families with trans kids. I'd ask you click to through & listen to Renee tell the story of her daughter's coming out. It's so important to know that parents like this are out there. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

A screenshot of the Mother Jones article reads:

Renee
Mother of Brooke (pseudonym), 17

On talking to Brooke the night after learning that Brooke had told friends she was going to kill herself: I went into their room, and they’re like, “Hey, what are we reading tonight?” And I said, “You know what? We’re not reading tonight.” “We’re not?” And I said, “No, we’re not reading tonight.” I said, “We’re talking.” And I said, “I have a question.” And they said, “Yeah?” And I said, “Is this the seventh birthday thing?” And they started crying and said, “Yeah.” She said, “I’m in the wrong body, and I’m a freak.” And I said, “You are not a freak.” I said, “You are wonderful.” And I said, “You have a beautiful heart and a beautiful soul, and we’re gonna figure this out, and that’s it.” She said, “I can do this.” And I said, “You can do this.” And she said, “What about Dad?” And I said, “You don’t worry about your dad. Your dad loves you. We got you.”

Listen to Renee tell her family’s story (Renee’s voice has been altered to preserve her family’s anonymity):

Madison Pauly@msjpauly· Mar 5

If the government was actually trying to protect children, it wouldn't be forcing providers to cut off kids' medical treatments without weaning or input from their doctor, Judge Hurson points out in a footnote.

A screenshot of footnote 42 of the opinion reads: "Further: Section 4 of the Healthcare Order directs "immediate[]" action. In doing so, it makes no effort to ensure that a patient is weaned off any medical care they are currently undergoing in conjunction with their medical provider. Such an abrupt halt in. medical care, even if, as Defendants contend, that care is dangerous or ineffective, cuts against Defendants' argument that the policy is substantially related to protecting children."

Madison Pauly@msjpauly· Feb 27

Intelligence community chatrooms like those that Rufo posted leaks from yesterday—leading 100+ folks being fired, seemingly for talking about their experiences as trans women—have long been widely used for "inappropriate" convos on social & political issues, per a 2021 Inspector General report.

Excerpt from an Inspector general report: "Misuse of the Intelink Collaboration Platform Application Services Is Systemic.... The IC IG received five separate submissions in fiscal year 2021 about IC individuals who misused the Intelink Collaboration Platform Applications Services. The submissions indicated a pattern of behavior by IC individuals that did not align with the terms of use of U.S. Government systems. For example, the submissions included allegations that IC individuals engaged in inappropriate political and social commentary, and used derogatory and offensive language while communicating with each other through the Intelink Collaboration Platform Application Services. ... INV initiated this investigation because of [redacted] unauthorized "audit" activities. INV did not address the IC-wide systemic misuse of the Intelink Collaboration Platform Application Services as this was outside the scope of INV's investigation.

Madison Pauly@msjpauly· Jan 21

Hang on, did Trump's lawyers just sneak fetal personhood language into the anti-trans EO? @maryrziegler.bsky.social @greerdonley.bsky.social "'Female' means a person belonging, at conception, to the sex that produces the large reproductive cell." A person... at conception.

Madison Pauly@msjpauly· Jan 21

Trump just ordered HRT to be cut off to incarcerated trans people. Incarcerated people are totally reliant on prison systems for their medical care. They can't just go pay out of pocket. This is forced detransition. BOP has 1,529 trans women & 753 trans men. (www.bop.gov/about/statis...)

Madison Pauly@msjpauly· Jan 21

Instead it says: "Agencies shall take all necessary steps, as permitted by law, to end the Federal funding of gender ideology." What does this even mean? How will it affect trans veterans who get their care through the VA? Trans elders on Medicare? The 1 in 5 trans adults who's on Medicaid?

Madison Pauly@msjpauly· Dec 4

Chase Strangio, representing TN trans kids and their families, and a doctor, is beginning his argument. He is now the first out trans person to argue before the Supreme Court. He pointed out the personal importance of the case in the NYT yesterday:

Madison Pauly@msjpauly· Dec 4

To Alito, this case is a question of whether the court should apply Geduldig - a 1974 case that basically said pregnancy discrimination doesn't count as sex discrimination - or Bostock. Alito resurrected Geduldig in his Dobbs opinion. Here's background on this argument from my story from Monday: