Affirming Sex and Gender Diversity in Genetics Practices, Policies, and Laws: A Call to Action

This ELSI Friday Forum took place on December 8, 2023.

There are already many barriers to appropriate health care for transgender, gender diverse, and intersex (TGDI) communities. The recent surge in bills and legislation in the US targeting access to age-appropriate and affirming health care for TGDI individuals is a direct threat to the health, autonomy, and well-being of TGDI people and also threatens to undermine accurate genetic risk assessment, patient care, and genomics research. Beyond banning best-practice care for these communities, these laws weaponize genetics against TGDI people by falsely conflating sex chromosomes with outdated binary concepts of sex and gender. Fear of discrimination drives TGDI people to avoid clinical encounters and research participation, which leads to incomplete and inaccurate genetic data. This session will discuss responsibilities and actions of researchers and clinicians to support gender-affirming health care and research for TGDI people nationwide.

Join the discussion with panelists Kellan Baker, PhD, MPH, MA and Kimberly Zayhowski, MS, CGC, moderated by Ina Amarillo, PhD, MSc.