Dear Friend,
This week, the Trump Administration announced it will no longer fund the national suicide prevention hotline for at-risk LGBTQ+ youth, a service that has helped 1.3 million callers since its launch in 2022. Two years prior, bipartisan legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump required the national 988 Lifeline to dedicate best-practice crisis services and specially trained staff for high-risk groups, including rural, Native, and LGBTQ+ Americans.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services said, “The president’s Budget… does not grant taxpayer money to a chat service where children are encouraged to embrace radical gender ideology by ‘counselors’ without consent or knowledge of their parents.”
For those keeping tally, that’s $0 taxpayer dollars for an evidence-based lifeline for at-risk youth, and $5,000,000,000 taxpayer dollars for religious school vouchers.
Suicide is one of the leading causes of death for young Americans. Federal research shows LGBTQ+ youth are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers, with one such attempt occurring every 45 seconds.
There is strong evidence that discriminatory policies are linked to worsened mental health outcomes. One peer-reviewed study found a sharp rise in suicide attempts among transgender and gender nonconforming teenagers after anti-trans laws were enacted in dozens of states.
As one researcher noted, young people are “not inherently prone to increased suicide risk because of their gender identity” but because of “how they’re mistreated and stigmatized by others, including by the implementation of discriminatory policies.” Over the past several years, right-wing politicians have increasingly used LGBTQ+ people, particularly trans youth and their families, as a wedge issue to galvanize support.
The 2024 election cycle intensified this trend, and it’s no wonder the LGBTQ+ Lifeline received a record 61,165 calls in November 2024. Co-opting religious narratives, Christian nationalist lawmakers referred to trans people as “filth,” “unrighteous,” “demons and mutants,” and “groomers.” This dehumanizing rhetoric causes serious harm, but there’s little evidence it’s persuading the public. A majority of Americans continue to support nondiscrimination protections for trans people.
But as we’re seeing in real time, an ideological agenda doesn’t need majority support to cause irreparable damage. It only takes enough extremists in power and a system willing to let them govern without accountability.
That’s why we’re deeply disturbed the U.S. Supreme Court gave extremists a green light this week in U.S. v. Skrmetti. In a 6-3 decision, the Court upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth. Despite the ongoing discrimination, stigma, and violence trans Americans face, the conservative majority refused to apply heightened constitutional scrutiny and gave lawmakers the go-ahead to continue targeting young LGBTQ+ youth.
Justice Clarence Thomas went even further in his concurring opinion, arguing that “elite sentiment” and “so-called experts” should never override ideologically driven or religiously motivated legislation. That deep hostility toward scientific facts, religious neutrality, and the inherent worth of all people is central to the Christian Nationalist ideology.
As our Legal Director, Geoffrey Blackwell, put it: “The ultra-conservatives on the Court are not only continuing their detachment from reason and reality but dragging the rest of us along with them.”
I saw more of this on Monday at the first public meeting of Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission. Just the day before, American Atheists had submitted formal comments protesting the commission’s total lack of representation of nonreligious Americans. But even though we were denied a seat at the table, we showed up anyway.
I sat with colleagues from Americans United, Interfaith Alliance, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation. But when U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi smirked, “Elections have consequences,” and promised to use the commission and the full weight of the Department of Justice as a weapon to suppress secular people and our values, we walked out.
Because it was clear: the Christian Nationalist ideology that now permeates all three branches of government is indifferent to facts and unbothered by the real-world, human consequences of its policies. And it is determined to erase the rights, freedoms, and even the existence of all who don’t conform.
Like vaccines and abortion care, gender-affirming care saves lives. It is backed by every leading medical organization in the United States. Eliminating access to literal lifelines and lifesaving health care tells LGBTQ+ Americans: Your life is not worth saving.
I’m here to assure you it is. And American Atheists will never stop fighting for your right to live a free, full, and authentic life free from religious hate, pseudoscientific bigotry, and state-sponsored discrimination. It’s why we’re building inclusive and supportive communities across the country and empowering our members to speak up for secular values in their legislatures. To support our work in your state and nationwide, please give $25 or more today.
No matter your gender identity or sexual orientation, attacks on LGBTQ+ Americans affect us all. The Skrmetti decision gives lawmakers a judicial nod to introduce sweeping ideological restrictions on all Americans’ health care, bodily autonomy, and personal freedom. And we know they won’t stop there.
Earlier this month, with no debate, the Southern Baptist Convention, whose powerful anti-abortion lobbying arm helped topple Roe v. Wade, overwhelmingly endorsed a ban on same-sex marriage and called for the reversal of Obergefell v. Hodges.
To quote Justice Sonia Sotomayor, “In sadness, I dissent,”
Nick Fish
President
American Atheists is a 501(c)(3) non-partisan, nonprofit educational organization that relies on the support of members like you. Contributions are tax-deductible. Our Federal Tax ID Number is 74-2466507, and our Combined Federal Campaign number is 52217.
American Atheists
225 Cristiani Street
Cranford, NJ 07016
United States