We know your list of anti-LGBTQ Trump appointees is getting a little out of hand, but we’ve got one more for you; Charmaine Yoest, new Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Yoest is better known for her inexcusable comments on transgender people, and her delusional claims that abortions increase breast cancer rates and that contraception use shorten women’s lifespans.
This is beyond Russian roulette-style appointments; it would seem that this administration is going out of its way to undermine the integrity of our government agencies. In a matter of months, we saw climate change skeptic Scott Pruitt being tapped to run the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the appointment of anti-LGBTQ activist Roger Severino to enforce civil rights law at HHS, just to name a few.
So while Yoest’s views are anti-scientific and shocking to say the least, her appointment is not. We refuse to stand quietly as this administration threatens the progress made in LGBTQ and women’s rights.
“His Lifer Story,” a piece written by immediate past GLAA president Richard J. Rosendall in 2007 is especially relevant with this recent appointment, and the absurd beliefs it perpetuates.
Check out Metro Weekly’s article on Yoest for more info.