Wednesday’s CBS Evening News dedicated an entire segment to an attempt to normalize sex change surgeries for minors. CBS, like most of the left-wing media ecosystem, were no strangers to pushing the left’s transgender ideology, but to highlight this in such a transparent way was something very different.
Anchor Norah O’Donnell kicked off the segment whining about the “wave of anti-transgender legislation being passed in Republican-led states.” Pointing out that “Missouri became the 20th state this year to pass laws aimed at limiting transgender rights.”
O’Donnell then used the Owellian language of the left by calling procedures like puberty blockers “gender-affirming care.”
“Arkansas was the first to enact a ban on gender-affirming care for young people,” she insisted.
Then correspondent Janet Shamlian took over to paint a rosy picture of child abuse: “There’s a lot of laughs among the five Garbett children at their Little Rock home. But Lizz Garbett, an operating room nurse, says before her son Simon transitioned a few years ago, it was very different.”
The mother of the girl who now claims to be a boy told CBS that “we couldn't figure out what was going on. And it was not a happy place. And after he transitioned, our home got calm again. Everybody felt like themselves.”
“The now 17-year-old first transitioned socially, cutting his hair, changing clothing. And has since legally changed his name. Started hormone replacement therapy, and became an activist for the rights of trans youth,” Shamlian gushed.
Shamlian reported that “half of transgender and nonbinary young people considered attempting suicide in the past year. Arkansas has passed eight laws restricting the rights of LGBTQ people in 2023.”
After interviewing Arkansas Republican state representative Mary Bentley who sponsored the law, Bentley told Shamlian that transgender surgeries were “not decreasing suicide, in fact, these cross-sex hormones are increasing the stress that folks go through.”
“But at least 30 national medical organizations disagree, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, which says a majority of patients report improved mental health and suicide rates decrease after receiving gender-affirming care,” Shamlian falsely claimed.
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To read the transcript click “expand”:
CBS Evening News
6/7/2023
6:45:05 p.m. EasternNORAH O’DONNELL: In addition to anti-LGBTQ+ protests and boycotts, we’ve also seen a wave of anti-transgender legislation being passed in Republican-led states. Today, Missouri became the 20th state this year to pass laws aimed at limiting transgender rights. Arkansas was the first to enact a ban on gender-affirming care for young people. That law has been temporarily blocked by a judge. CBS's Janet Shamlian goes in-depth tonight on the impact these restrictions can have on many families.
JANET SHAMLIAN: There’s a lot of laughs among the five Garbett children at their Little Rock home. But Lizz Garbett, an operating room nurse, says before her son Simon transitioned a few years ago, it was very different.
LIZZ GARBETT: We couldn't figure out what was going on. And it was not a happy place. And after he transitioned, our home got calm again. Everybody felt like themselves. And I have been able to watch him, like, blossom into his true self.
SHAMLIAN: The now 17-year-old first transitioned socially, cutting his hair, changing clothing. And has since legally changed his name. Started hormone replacement therapy, and became an activist for the rights of trans youth.
What’s it like to put yourself out there?
SIMON GARBETT: It -- it's nerve-racking, and it's scary, and it gives me a lot of anxiety. But I have to do it. I would feel worse if I didn't.
SHAMLIAN: Half of transgender and nonbinary young people considered attempting suicide in the past year. Arkansas has passed eight laws restricting the rights of LGBTQ people in 2023. Republican state representative Mary Bentley sponsored some of that legislation.
Is this in any way a message to transgender youth and/or their families that you don't want them in Arkansas?
REP. MARY BENTLEY (R-AR): Not at all. We care. This gender-affirming care is not decreasing suicide, in fact, these cross-sex hormones are increasing the stress that folks go through.
SHAMLIAN: But at least 30 national medical organizations disagree, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, which says a majority of patients report improved mental health and suicide rates decrease after receiving gender-affirming care.
How did your happiness change from before to after?
SIMON GARBETT: Before, I was...Suicidal. I was miserable.
LIZZ GARBETT: My kid is trans, but that’s just a tiny little piece of who he is. And he just wants to be allowed to live his real, authentic self.
SHAMLIAN: A desire made more difficult than ever.
