CNN's Mishandling of Trans Healthcare Coverage Highlights Need for Change

Lack of transgender representation at the network leads to misinformed reporting on Harris's stance and current law.

During Monday’s episode of CNN’s Out Front, host Erin Burnett and CNN reporter Andrew Kaczynski pushed anti-trans talking points while discussing Kaczynski’s latest piece, a write-up of Kamala Harris’s responses to an ACLU candidate questionnaire in 2019.

“As Kamala Harris pivots to the political center in her campaign for president, a 2019 questionnaire from a leading civil rights organization spotlights her past support for left-wing causes such as taxpayer-funded gender transition surgeries for detained immigrants and federal prisoners,” wrote Kaczynski, omitting some crucial information.

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What Kaczynski failed to mention in his piece is that Harris's position aligns with current federal law. The Eighth Amendment protects the right of incarcerated individuals to receive medical care, which includes gender-affirming treatment when deemed medically necessary. This omission fundamentally misrepresents Harris's stance and misleads viewers about the nature of transgender healthcare in federal custody, effectively painting the status quo as “left-wing.”

ANDREW KACZYNSKI: She said she supported taxpayer-funded gender transition surgeries for detained migrants. She also said—

ERIN BURNETT: Taxpayer-funded gender transition surgeries for detained migrants. She actually said she supported that?

KACZYNSKI: She both wrote and answered in the affirmative when she was asked this. And she said she also supported it for federal prisoners.

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BURNETT: These are things that it would be hard to think that you would come up with — taxpayer funding gender transitions for detained migrants. And yet this, as you say, written and verbally.

During the segment, Burnett would say, “These are things that it would be hard to think that you would come up with — taxpayer funding gender transitions for detained migrants.”

The segment's framing of medically necessary care as a "left-wing cause" reveals a troubling blind spot in CNN's coverage of transgender issues. By sensationalizing Harris's support for basic human rights, CNN has contributed to the ongoing marginalization of trans individuals in public discourse.

Writing on Threads, GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said the following:

Health care is a human right, and as legal experts quickly noted, it is the law to provide it for detained people.

Gender-affirming care, or put more simply, health care for transgender people, is evidence-based, best-practice medical care supported by every major medical association.

It is a disservice to viewers and inaccurate for CNN to insinuate there is something amiss with following the law as well as treating people with respect and dignity. Transgender people and migrants are being baselessly scapegoated at every turn.

Responsible media should include trans voices in accurate coverage about their lives and related issues of basic human rights.

As Chris Geidner noted in Law Dork, "The mere fact that Kaczynski and Burnett were so self-satisfied and proud of themselves in this segment itself says a lot about the dramatic downward shift in public discussions about transgender people's lives over the past five years."

This incident highlights a significant problem at CNN: the network currently has zero transgender on-air talent, contributors, or regular guests. This lack of representation leads to uninformed and potentially harmful coverage of trans issues.

It's clear that CNN needs to address this blind spot by bringing in transgender voices who can speak to these issues with firsthand knowledge and expertise. Hiring trans journalists, commentators, or regular contributors would provide much-needed perspective and help prevent the kind of misrepresentation we saw in this segment.

As the 2024 election nears, it's important for major news outlets like CNN to recognize and address their blind spots. By including trans voices in their coverage, CNN can improve the accuracy and depth of their reporting on transgender issues, ultimately serving their viewers better and contributing to a more informed public discourse.