Jon Stewart interviews Arkansas attorney general on anti-trans law
09.10.2022 - 11:53
/ qvoicenews.com
Jon Stewart received mountains of praise Friday for his interview with Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, who supported state legislation denying anyone under 18 years old access to gender-affirming treatments.
Arkansas’ Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson vetoed the bill, Act 626, last year, calling it a “vast government overreach.”
But lawmakers, who dubbed the bill “Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act.”
The American Civil Liberties Union has sued Arkansas, and the law has been temporarily blocked.
A trial on whether to permanently block the legislation is scheduled for later this month in a federal appeals court.
Confronting Arkansas attorney general
In the interview on the Apple TV series “The Problem With Jon Stewart,” the TV host points out to Ruthledge that the Arkansas law overrides guidelines from major medical associations.
For example, the American Medical Association says that gender-affirming care is key to improving health outcomes for transgender people. That care is related to dramatically reduced rates of suicide, depression, anxiety, and substance use.
“It’s surprising that the state would say, We want to make a decision for your family and your child, to protect them, even though the American Medical Association, the American Association of Pediatrics, the Endocrine Society, the American Association of Psychiatrists all recommend a certain set of guidelines for children that are expressing gender dysphoria,” Stewart says. “So I guess my surprise is why would the state of Arkansas step in to override parents, physicians, psychiatrists, endocrinologists who have developed guidelines. Why would you override those guidelines?”
Rutledge claims that for every expert who supports