Letter to Gov. Abbott (03/08/22)

Gov. Abbott,

Psalm 139:13-14 says, “ For it was you who formed my inward parts; you

knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and

wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.”

As faith leaders, we affirm that Transgender and nonbinary folk are beloved children of God and

purposefully created as such. They know deeply the wonderful works of God and are entrusted to

parents and caretakers seeking to bring the most joyful and abundant life for them.

Your executive order directing state departments to investigate gender-affirming treatment as

child abuse tears apart families. It is inherently antithetical to keeping children safe and

affirmed. Though you claim that gender affirming treatments harm children, medical best

practices say otherwise. We are concerned with the many Transgender children who suffer higher

rates of depression, suicidality, self-harm, and eating disorders when compared with their peers,(1)

the best treatment for which is gender affirming interventions.

Therefore, your order does not care for children but harms them instead. Your order is a thinly

veiled attempt to scapegoat and harm the more vulnerable of our society. As Christians, we

follow a Savior who calls us to care for the vulnerable and though you claim to do the same, this

is not care (Matthew 25:40). We put our trust in parents, communities, and in the children

themselves to know what is best for them.

We are deeply disturbed at the ways in which laws and policies like this have arisen across the

country. We understand this movement to be a way for politicians to distract from other concerns

of the day, centering vulnerable children and their bodies not out of deep care for their wellbeing,

but as pawns in a political game. We stand in a theological heritage that rejects the

commodification of bodies generally, and children’s bodies in particular. We ask that you and all

politicians reflect on the ways in which the laws and policies you enact are actually life-giving

and a reflection of God’s love and abundance, rather than attempts to police young people’s

bodies.

Ultimately, our decision to stand with Trans and nonbinary children comes out of our deep

commitment to their flourishing. Our communities stood with such children at their baptism,

through their name affirming ceremonies, and we will not let politicians concerned with

manipulating elections use them to score votes. We will speak God’s words of promise and

affirmation, and we will show our genuine care for their well-being. They are wonderful works

whom God knows very well. If you and other politicians or government officials continue to play

with their lives, we will always choose to stand with them, by and through the power of the Holy

Spirit. Amen.

Representatives of LAMP

LGBTQ+ Affirming Ministries of Pittsburgh

(1) https://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(16)30146-X/fulltext