Thursday, AB 960, authored by Assemblymember David Chiu (D—San Francisco) and co-sponsored by Equality California, passed out of the Assembly Judiciary Committee. The committee voted unanimously to pass the bill, which now moves to the Assembly Floor for a vote at the end of May. The bill would update California’s assisted reproduction laws to help…
WASHINGTON — Singer/songwriter Mary Lambert joined U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in commemorating Thursday’s 10th anniversary of National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day. The national event, Strengthening Communities by Integrating Care, highlighted strategies for best supporting the needs of…
BOSTON — A new study, published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine and led by Mark Schuster, MD, PhD, chief of General Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, shows that sexual minority youth (youth who identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual) are more likely to be bullied and victimized than their peers. “What really stands…
A day after the news broke that Assurant Health Insurance would no longer cover the drug Truvada as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent contracting HIV, the company has reversed that decision. Mary Hinderliter, Assurant Health vice president of communications emailed LGBT Weekly today with the following statement, “We are reversing our decision and will be…
A national health insurance campany has announced that it will no longer cover the drug Truvada as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent contracting HIV. The insurance company, Assurant Health, have notified customers who had been taking Truvada (comprising the antiretrovirals tenofovir and emtricitabine) as PrEP, reports POZ.com. The insurer has stated that it would end…
SALEM, Ore. —Today, the Oregon State Senate passed HB 2307, a bill that will protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth from the dangerous and discredited practice of conversion therapy. The bill was overwhelmingly approved by the State House on March 17 and is now heading to the desk of Gov. Kate Brown who…
NEW YORK — In order to meet heightened demand from a new, younger patient demographic, Path2Parenthood (P2P), formerly known as The American Fertility Association, has made its respected and well-known Family Building Guide available as an app. The Path2Parenthood Family Building Guide has been successfully meeting the needs of hopeful parents for over 20 years. In…
The Hawaii state legislature has passed a vital measure that will ensure transgender people are able to change their birth certificates to reflect their correct name and gender without unnecessarily expensive and invasive obstacles. Gov. David Ige is expected to sign the legislation into law. “Transgender people already face difficult obstacles in being able to…
LITTLE ROCK — Last night, the city of Hot Springs took a tremendously important step forward in the fight for inclusiveness and equality under the law for all Arkansans. Its powerful actions stand in remarkable contrast to the vision for America that former Governor Mike Huckabee, who earlier that morning announced his presidential campaign up…
Today, major child advocacy groups joined the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), in opposing an extreme anti-LGBT adoption bill in Texas that is dangerously close to becoming law. Texas HB 3864, which has passed through the House Juvenile Justice and Family Issues Committee, would enshrine special discrimination rights into law by allowing adoption agencies contracted by…
