(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) As the left promotes transgenderism in schools and all varieties of media, a gender dysphoria epidemic is on the rise, Axios reported.
According to a report from Definitive Healthcare, between 2018 and 2022, the number of diagnoses increased in every state in America except South Dakota.
Among those states with the largest increase were Virginia, Indiana and Utah, each of which saw spikes of approximately 200% or more.
South Dakota, Hawaii and Connecticut saw decline or the lowest growth in the diagnosis.
In South Dakota, led by the efforts of Republican Gov. Kristi Noem, the instances of gender dysphoria diagnoses actually decreased by 23% as numbers rose in America’s other 49 states.
The state legislature has repeatedly signaled its opposition to left wing efforts to normalize the illness and to enable those afflicted through expanded legal protections.
After several years of ironing out the details, South Dakota last year joined several other red states in passing a ban on “gender-affirming care” for minors.
The law outlaws the prescription and administration of puberty-blocking medication in patients under the age of 18, as well as sex hormones and surgery related to gender transition. It took effect on July 1, 2023 after being passed by a 30-4 margin the state’s Senate and a 60-10 vote in the state House.
“South Dakota’s kids are our future. With this legislation, we are protecting kids from harmful, permanent medical procedures,” Noem said at the time. “I will always stand up for the next generation of South Dakotans.”
The state also has a longstanding bill, passed in 2016, that requires students to use the bathroom corresponding to their biological gender.
However, according to Definitive Healthcare, its status as the lone outlier may be a bit misleading
The report claimed that the numbers may have decreased in the state because transgenders from some states like South Dakota were likely going to other, more trans-friendly states to get diagnosed.
“Other states with bans on gender-affirming care for youth have seen year-to-year dips in gender dysphoria diagnoses, too,” the report suggested, noting that it possibly indicates “shifting social and political climates have pushed young patients and their parents to seek diagnoses in states that are friendlier to trans people.”
Nonetheless, red state laws have, to some extent, succeeded in reducing the population of those afflicted with gender dysphoria.
Many mainstream media reports have breathlessly indicated that LGBT individuals and families were packing up and leaving the states whose policies on issues like child genital mutilation they disagreed with.
