Jiselle Santos/The Cougar

Abortion is a polarizing issue, but every person who can conceive a child is worthy and capable of making a private decision about whether to have the procedure or not.

The crusade against abortion began by targeting cisgender women. But women are not the only people who can get pregnant, and not all people receiving abortions are cis women — transgender men, intersex and gender non-conforming people can get pregnant, too.

We cannot continue to exclude trans and gender non-conforming people from reproductive health care and abortion conversations. Everybody deserves access to safe and legal health care.

The reproductive rights of gender-queer people have been under attack by the Trump Administration from the beginning of his presidency. If retroactive laws continue to be implemented across the country, entire communities of people will face legalized discrimination.

The National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) has maintained a current record of Trump’s major policy changes that have been proposed or implemented. On his inauguration day, all mentions of LGBTQ people were removed from the websites of the White House, Department of State and Department of Labor.

One of the most absurd rules proposed by the Department of Health and Human Services in January 2018 allowed medical providers to deny treatment to trans people in need of reproductive care.

Thirty-six states and four territories, including Texas, do not have laws that provide LGBT people with inclusive insurance protections, according to the Movement Advancement Project. Only 12 states, one territory and D.C. have laws to prohibit health insurance discrimination based on a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

The general public needs to be more active to ensure that every person has the right to equal and non-discriminatory health care providers. By supplementing existing and current health care providers with non-stigmatizing information, there will be an increased awareness of these unconstitutional laws.

It’s critical to understand that people across the spectrum need abortion and reproductive health care services, too.

Feelings of isolation often lead to anxiety, severe depression and, in many cases, attempted suicide. The National LGBTQ Task Force estimates that the attempted suicide rate for multiracial transgender people is 33 times higher than the general population.

The NCTE found that “some trans people who need access to abortion funds and other support may be put off by ‘women’s’ branding,” resulting in gender dysphoria.

Abortion and reproductive health care access are viewed as women’s issues, and this has been seen in the language used by health care providers. By simply using inclusive language and pronouns, health care providers could avoid making a person feel alienated.

The fight for equal access to abortion and reproductive health care for the LGBTQ community is ongoing. But everybody has the ability to help by allying with the community to support their basic human rights. Even people who are not actively or heavily involved in the community’s activism can make a difference by being an ally.

Guest columnist Aimée Pezina is a journalism senior and can be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

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“Transgender people deserve abortion and health care services too” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar