Safeguarding LGBTQ+ lives in an epoch of abandonment

Policy-sanctioned threats to the lives and welfare of LGBTQ+ people are becoming increasingly volatile.Despite the commitment of UN member states to "leave no one behind" as a key ethic of the Sustainable Development Agenda, 1 LGBTQ+ populations are being actively marginalised further.66 jurisdictions worldwide criminalise private, consensual, same-sex activity between men; 41 countries enact the same punishment for women; and 12 countries impose or can impose the death penalty for same-sex activity. 2Another 14 countries criminalise trans people's gender identity or expression. 2 An emerging global movement of homophobia, transphobia, and human-rights violations 3 is pervading throughout countless nations, regardless of their income level, predominant religious practices, or governments.On June 5, 2023, the Human Rights Campaign declared a state of emergency for all LGBTQ+ Americans, citing 525 state-level bills targeting LGBTQ+ populations in the USA. 4 In 2023, 75 such bills have been signed into law-doubling legalised discrimination since 2022. 4These policies restrict educators from discussing LGBTQ+ issues, prohibit mental health workers from providing gender-affirming care to people under the age of 18 who have gender dysphoria, and criminalise parents who seek the medical care that they believe will best support the wellbeing their children.In Florida, the Protections of Medical Conscience Act will permit health workers to deny LGBTQ+ people health services of any kind if clinicians feel that these services violate their moral, ethical, or religious beliefs. 5his act creates a dangerous precedent of restricting health-care access and delivery based on the self-determined moral and ethical responsibility of individual clinicians.