Republican Josh Hawley accused of transphobia at Senate hearing

Josh Hawley, a Republican senator from Missouri, was accused of being transphobic by a law professor on Tuesday, at a hearing on the consequences of the supreme court decision to overturn Roe v Wade, the ruling which guaranteed the right to abortion.

During the judiciary committee hearing, Hawley, who has previously co-sponsored a bill which would prevent transgender children from competing in sports, questioned Khiara Bridges, a professor at UC Berkeley School of Law who was invited to testify on reproductive rights.

Republicans, and other organizations in the US and beyond, have repeatedly sought to diminish the rights of trans people. Parts of the US have seen a rise in anti-LGBTQ+ hate and also anti-LGTBQ+ legislation over the past year.

More than 320 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced in the US this year, according to the Human Rights Campaign. LGBTQ+ rights could also come under threat if the supreme court revisits laws which protect the right to same-sex marriage and relationships. The conservative justice Clarence Thomas has suggested the court should do so.

Polling has shown that a majority of Americans oppose anti-transgender laws but that has not stopped Republicans from pushing discriminatory legislation.

Earlier this year Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, ordered state agencies to investigate gender-affirming care for transgender young people as child abuse.

Other politicians and rightwing media figures have spread lies and misinformation about gay and trans people attempting to groom schoolchildren.