01/29/20 01/29/20 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from the sundance film festivalal in park city, utah, this is democracy now! haveat trump and netanyahu put forward is not a peace plan. it does not involve a palestinian state by any possible interpretation of that term. it is essentially a dictator composed by the israelis dictated to yououng jared kushnr and telling the palestinians you must accept these ameliorating

terms that essentially deprive you of every single one of your national rights. amy: president trump unveiled his middle east plan, standing with his really prime minister benjamin netanyahu at the white house. ththis just after netanyahu was indicted for corruption in israel. he says israel will now move toward annexing 30% of the occupied west bank. we will speak to club university professor rashid khalidi, author of the new book "the hundred years war on ellis time," as well as mehdi hasan of al jazeera. into the impeachment trial of president trump. >> the trial of the leader of the free world, the duly elected president of the united states. it is not a game of leaks and unsourced manuscripts..

hamilton put impeachment in the senate, this body, the becisely and specifically to above that fray. amy: and then we go to south dakota where the state lelegislature is debating a bill targeting transgenender youth. >> now have lawmakers disregarding science, disregarding the urgent need of the trans community and saying we do not care that t you might die. we are going to make your health care and indeed your life a crime. amy: all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynowow.org, the war anad peace report.. i'm amy goodmaman. on capitol hill, senate majority leader mitch mcconnell told fellow republican senators in a private meeting g that he does t yet have enough votes to block democrats from calling impeachment witnesses.

democrats are pushing for former national security advisor john bolton to testify. bolton writes in a forthcoming book that trump personally told him he wanted to maintain a freeze on $391 million in military aid to ukraine until ukraine turned over materials related to former vice president joe biden. on tuesday, trump's defense team -- lawyer jay sekulow tried to dismiss the reports about bolton as inadmissible. >> responding to an unpublished maybe somethat reporters have an idea of what it says. that is what the evidence, if you want to call that evidence, i don't know what you call it. i call it inadmissible. but that is what it is. amy: president trump has rejected bolton's account. but on monday, trump's own former chief of staff general john kelly said "john bolton

says in the book, i believe john bolton." more later in the broadcast. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu is moving toward annexing 30% of the occupied west bank after israel was given the green light to do so by the united states. on tuesday, president trump, with netanyahu by his side, unveiled a so-called middle east peace plan drafted by trump's son-in-law jared kushner without any input from palestinians. under the plan, israel will gain sovereignty over large areas of the occupied west bank, jerusalem, would be under total israeli control, and all jewish settlers in the occupied territory would be allowed to remain in their homes. palestinians protested against the plan. this is palestinian president mahmoud abbas. >> i say to the partners, trump and netanyahu, jerusalem is not

for sale. are not forights sale and not for bargain. conspiracy, will not pass. amy: only hours before the plane was announced, netanyahu was indicted for corruption, marking the first time in israel's history a sitting prime minister will face criminal charges. we will have more on trump so-called middle east peace plan after headlines. during a news conference about the middle east plan, president trump praised secretary of state mike pompeo for shouting and cursing at npr reporter mary louise kelly after an interview on friday. pres. trump: that is impressive. that was very impresessive. [laughter]r] that reporter could not have done too good of a job yesterday.y. i think you u did a a good job n her, actually. that's good. amy: in a "new york times" op-ed, kelly writes about how

pompeo swore at her, called her a liar, and challenged her to find ukraine on a map p after se questitioned pompeo first about u.s. diplomacy with iran and then about the former u.s. ambassador to ukraine marie yovanovitch. kelly's npr colleague michele kelemen has now denied credentials to travel with pompeo on his visit to ukraine, which begins tomorrow. in more news on the media, "the washington post" has reinstated reporter felicia sonmez after she was suspended for tweeting a link to an article about the 2003 rape case against kobe bryant in the wake of his death in a helicopter crash. she has faced a slew of rate and death rates for tweeting the article. meanwhile, new details have emerged about the crash, which also killed kobe bryant's 13-year-old daughter gianna and

seven others sunday. the helicopter did not have a terrain awareness and warning sysystem, although the national transportation safety board has long urged federal regegulatorso require this system be installed on all helicopters. tributes for the baskeketball sr kobe bryant continue to pour in from across ththe world in the a postponened last night schedulud game between the los angeles .akers and the l.a. clippppers instead, a major attribute took place. the spreading coronavirus has now killed 132 people in china, with nearly 6000 more patients infecteded worldwide.. china has locked down more than a dozen cities, essentially quarantining over 50 million people. hundndreds of americans have b n evacacuated from wuhuhan, the epicenter of the virus, but some of their family members without u.s. visas have been left behind.

fourur familie refused to leave -- or families refused to leave members of the families that are not u.s. citizens. british airways has suspended all flights in and out of china. in syria, over 100,000 civilians have been displaced from the northwestern province of idlib over the last week as the russian-backed syrian government continues its major bombing and ground offensive against the rebel-controlled territory. the syrian regime announced today it has seized control of the key town of ma'arat al-nu'man, which former resident site is now largely destroyed. in madagascar, at least 30 people have been killed and 16,000 more have been displaced by massive floods triggered by torrential downpours. increased rainfall and flooding is fueled by climate change. and mississippi is moving to shut down a unit at the mississippi state penitentiary at parchman after nine prisoners have died in the prison within the last monthth. at least three men have been found hanging in their cells.

prisonerers have filed a lawsuit arguing the conditions at parchman arere unconstitutional. and in maryland prince george's , a county police e officer has been c charged with murder after he fired seven shots at anan african american man whose hands were cuffed behindnd his back ad who was sitting in the front passenger seat of a police car. officer michael owen, who is also black, killed 43-year-old william green on monday, shooting him at point blank range after taking him into custody for an alleged traffic accident. officer owen also shot and killed a man in 2011. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we are broadcasting from park city, utah. israeli prime e minister benjamn netanyahu hahas announced planso move ahead with annexing about 30% of the occupied west bank after israel was given the green light to do so by the united states.

on tuesday, president trump, stood by netanyahu, to unveil the middle east peace plan that was drafted by trump's son-in-law jared kushner without any input from palestinians. the plan was introduced just hours after netanyahu was indicted for corruption and in the middle of trump's impeachment trial in the senate. under the plan, israel will gain sovereignty over large areas of the occupied west bank, jerusalem would be under total israeli control, and all jewish settlers in the occupied territory would be allowed to remain in their homes. the plan also calls for a four-year settlement freeze and the possible creation of a truncated palestinian state but only if a number of conditions are met. this is president t trump. pres. trump: my fusion preresens a win-win opportunitity for both sides. a realistic twowotate thatt

reresolves the risk of palestinn statehood to israel security. today israel has taken a giant step toward peace. yesterday prime minister netanyahu informed me that he is willing to endorse the vision as the basis for directing negotiations. and i will say, the general also endorsed, and very strongly, with the palestitinians a histoc breakthrough. amy: israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu praised the u.s. deal. long, too long, far too the very heart of the land of israel where our patriarchs prayed, our prophets preached, and our kings ruled come hahas been outrageouslsly granted as illegally occupied territory. well, today, mr. president, you are puncturing this big lie.

israelrecognizing sovereignty over all the jewish communities in judea and samaria, large and small alike. amy: palestinians responded to the u.s. plan with protests in the west bank and gaza. palestinian president mahamoud abbas rejected the deal. >> i say to the partners trump and netanyahu, jerusalem is not for sale. all of our rights are not for sale and are not for bargain. deal, conspiracy will not pass. amy: for more, we're joined in new york by rashid khalidi edward said professor of modern , arab studies at columbia university. he's the author of several books, including his latest "the

hundred-years war on palestine." welcome to democracy now!, professor. can you start off by responding to this plan? this scene yesterday at the white house, president trump in the midst of the senate , standing nextal to the prime minister benjamin netanyahu who had just been indicted yesterday for corruption. >> what these two miscreants have done, one of them impeached and the other indicted, is to roll out an israeli peace plan that was dictated to young jared kushner by his israeli mentors and who have fulfilled the wish list of the extreme israeli right ever since they conquered the west bank and 1967 -- and i would even say going back even further. this is meant to end the palestine question. this is meant to expand greater israel from the river to

deceive. there is no state in this for the palestinians. sovereignty will reside solely in israel, control will reside solely in israel. in fact, what it means is not just annexation and so on and so forth, it means the united states and israel are going to dictate the terms or try to dictate the terms of the settlement. we will never see this come to pass. it is so unrealistic. it is so at odds with not only international law, but everything everybody has put forth except the extreme israeli right and their frfriends and washington since the beginning of this conflict. in my view, it is yet another declaration of war on the palestinians in the 100 years war that has beeeen going on sie the beginning of the 20th century. amy: supposing president mahmoud abbas called president trump's a conspiracy in the prime minister said in advance of its release, it is nothing but a plan to liquidate the palesestinian iss.

if you could say more how this plan came into being? i want to turn first to the voices of some palestinians who took to the streets on tuesday to protest the u.s. deal. >> regarding the plane of the century, we say to trump and the american administration our people are united behind our palestinian leadership represented by president abbas. we reject this plan. i think this speeeech came to support benjamin netanyahu to help them to pass his internal crisis. it is also part of their election campaign for donald trump in the coming election. it is nothing more than an election campaign for both. >> this plan i is a gift froroma big thief to a small thief. amy: professor, those are voices of palestinians from gaza to heparin. -- hebron. what is it mean when you stand with israel at the white house

and puts this forward, developed by the young developer jared kushner? >> well, i don't think jared kushner has an idea in his head about anything to do with palestine or israel. he knows what he is told. this is dictated to him by his israeli mentors and meant to be dictact telling them you will not have sovereignty, will not have any of your international rights. we will get what yo choose to give youou when we decide to give it t to you. the u.s. has endorsed that posision. in so doing,g, it separates itsf from every country in the world except a few client states in arab gulf. call thenetanyahu description of the occupied territories as illegally

occupied. we heard him call that a lie. the layer here is netanyahu. international law is not determined by an indicted -- impedes president and an indicted israeli prime minister. it is determined by others. others have long since determined those territories are illegally occupied. everything a dozen in jerusalem is illegal. -- i would not call it a conspiracy. cooked up byhing calle two leaders try to escape the plight area in order to increase our chances at the next election. when israel -- one in israel and then one in our country. both of them think this will help them. he won't see the light of day. the things that it includes such as annexation and so forth will go ahead. go ahead in any case. i don't think this is a momentous plan in any way, shape, or form. it simply represents, as i said,

the wish list of the extreme israeli rights, which has now been endorsed by the american president. t trump'sis president son-in-law jared kushner speaking on cnn. >> i come from a real estate background. it was a very difficult to draw these lines and get a map when you could have continuity to a palestinian state. this is because of something that we developed. this is something we inherited, the situtuation where israel continues to grow and grow. the president secured israel agreed to stop for four years to give the palestinians a last chance to finally have a state. amy: professor, your response? put it in the context. thise has to look at ludicrous plan, 181 pages come and look at the map and see either jareded kushner is blindr he is a liar. there is no contiguity for the palestinian -- so-called

palestinian state. there were five or six times separated by territory which is part of a plan that goes back to him as the beginning of the occupation to top of the west bank so there can be no palestinian state, so there can be no contiguity. if he can't see that or is lying to the people on cnn, that is his problem. we should not be taken in. i suggest everybody have a quick look at that plan because what is clear is this is something -- i mean, you can talk about it in terms of any other kind of humiliating imposition on the rise of the indigenous population by separate colonial regime, which is what we're seeing here. mr. kushner is aiding and abetting this in his ignorance and passion for the extreme israeli rights positions. amy: your book, which talks about the 100 years war on palestine, this is just another

moment in history. put this into context of that entry. >> one of the things i point out is this is not a war waged just byby israel or by the zionist movement on the palestinians. this is a war that was aided and abetted, endorsed, and made possible at every stage by the greatest power of the age, whether that was great britain or the soviet union or tododay with president trump. israel could not do this without external support. the zionist movement could not have established itself as it did without great britain. as you suggest, this is yet another stage in a very long process whereby not just israel and the zionist movement, but a whole range o of collaborators r people in collision with israel have enabled israel to do what it has managed to do. it is a war on palestine.e. this is not t a struggle between two equals. simply between two

national movements. there are two peoples involved, but one has enormous support from the outside and the other -- the palestinians -- are indigenous people faced with this colonial settler movement, which is grinding up their coununtry, taking as much of its it canan. and only able to do this because of support from great powers like the united states under president. amy: i want to go to break and we will continue with professor rashid khalidi, edward said professor of modern arab studies at columbia university. his new book is just out "the hundred-years war on palestine." and mehdi hasan will also join us of al jazeera at the intercept. and what president trump calls the middle east peace plan, but palestinians call everything from a conspiracy to simply reject this plan about what will happen in the middle east. then we will talalk about thehe impeachment trial with mehdi hasan that is going on now in

the senate. and finally, what is happening in south dakota targeting trans youth. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'amamy goodmaman. democratic presidential candidates bernie sanders and elizabeth warren responded to president trump's so-called middle east peace plan. sanders issued a statement, saying -- "any acceptable peace deal must be consistent with international law and multiple u.n. security council resolutions. it must end the israeli occupation that began in 1967 and enable palestinian self-determination in an independent, democratic, economically viable state of their own alongside a secure and democratic state of israel. trump's so-called 'peace deal' doesn't come close, and will only perpetuate the conflict, and undermine the security interests of americans, israelis, and palestinians. it is unacceptable." elizabeth warren tweeted -- "trump's 'peace plan' is a rubber stamp for annexation and offers no chance for a real

palestinian state. releasing a plan without negotiating with palestinians isn't diplomacy, it's a sham. i will oppose unilateral annexation in any formand reverse any policy that supports it." we go now to washington, d.c., where we are joined by mehdi hasan, senior columnist at the intercept and host of their deconstructed podcast. he's also host of "upfront" at al jazeera english. and still with us rashid , khalidi, edward said professor of modern arab studies at columbia university. his new book "the hundred-years , war on palestine." mehdi hasan, if you can respond to the presidential candidates responding to the middle east plan and then how the media has covered it? >> i'm glglad some of the candndidates have come out strongly. elizabeth warren came out very quick. bernie sanders referring to as an station -- annexation.

least in thist election cycle you have two candidatates, warren and sander, talking explicitly about netanyahu's racism, annexation, the "peace plan" being a sham. anyone who describes this as a "peace plan" -- and there i fell into the trap. this is not a peacace plan. when you hear r any journalist referring g to it as a peace pl, need to stop and think twice about that because this is a plan for apartheid, settler colonialism. we need to bebe clear abobout or terms.s. "the newew york times" put out a tweet yesterday when the plan came out, a breaking news tweet where they talked about the palestinians being asked to make courses -- concessions. does the language we have in the u.s. about israel-palestine, the idea i could by people who have had their land stolen are expected to concede that land the people who have occupied them and stolen their land.

it is not language we would use in any other conflict. we don't use it in the context of crimea, ukraine, and russia but we do use it and have used for years and then released in relation to the occupied territory. what is interesting about the current moment, donald trump -- there's always a silver lining to his awfulness. that is he takes in the issue and is so extreme on it, even by american presidentntial standar, that he forces people off whatever fins they were sitting on. what he has done in the last 24 hours with the help of his mbsin-law and netanyahu and izzy has forced people to basically take off the blinkers and recognize this for what it is. the conflict is no longer israel , but it isstine apartheid. americans have to decide e do ty support apartheid or not? there is no more nonsense about two-state solutions and all of

that rubbish. that is finished. finally over. no one pretends it is still on the table. do you support apartheid or not? that is what we should be asking the presidential candidates and what journalist should be discussing in the media. amy: talked about american opinion polls. they are very interesting on the issue of israel-palestine. >> we are often told by supporters of the israeli occupation and washington, d.c., spececial republicans, the reasn the united states fact israel so blindly a and gives a billions f dollars,s, tranzyme blind eye wn it massacres children in gaza, is because american public opopinion is behind israrael bee they want to support the "only democracy in the middle east" which is often sold. ifif you look at the polling on the subject mamany many years, e majority of americans say they don't want the u.s. to take the

side of either. they wanted to be what it claims to be, and impartial outside force -- which it never has been. what is interesting, about a year ago, the university of maryland does a great epidemic a poster carried outut some holdig of amemecans on ththe middle eat that found there was almost an even split between americans on whether they support a two state solution as is framed by the establishment. americans to 1%. that was around 35%. he was honest even. is so interesting. when you tell americans that there is no two state solution, that optioion is gone, the vast majority, two out of three americans, say we support one state solution with equal rights for everyone. oneericans like the idea of person, one vote. they don't like the idea of

saying we're going to take a people and put them under occupation and disenfranchise them in perpetuity. that is what this christian plan does. it basically says you are never getting anything else. this is what you get. takes overxes and whatever it likes. palestinians know they don't get any rights. what is so astonishing about this plan and i would argue the average mac would not s support thisis idea, a palestinian refue not only loses their status as a refugee forever but israel gets to veto palestinian refugees from returning even to a apostae in-s-state. not just israel. under this plan, they can't even return to a palestinian state without an israeli veto. this is a reminder that edward sayed said it best, here in the united states and the west, the palestinian person politically does not exist. they have been obliterated. i think we saw that in the last

24 hours three of a white e houe press conference at which no palestinian spoke, a white house meeting with the israeli leadership but none from the palestinian ship, and a plan put forward by the white house which had no papalestinian input whatsoever. it is a complete and utter erasure of the palestinians by the u.s. political establishment , the u.s. administration. amy: mehdi hasan, before we move on to the senate impeachment trial of president trump that is taking place at the same time, seems to have motivated a great deal in president from january 3 the assassination of qassem soleimani to his setting precedent last friday speaking at a right to life march in washington, d.c. -- the first sitting president to do this -- and then suddenly announcing he is releasing a middle east peace plan. i wanted to turn backk to rashid khalidi. you talked about some gulf states perhaps supporting the

president. if you could talk about the significance of saudi arabia, perhaps one of the closest allies with the united states, along with israel? >> i think this brings up something that people don't think about very often. the only reason that israel is able to maintain its regional superiority is because most arab states are not democratic. the only countries that could or would buy into this our countries which can suppress their domestic public opinion. the absolute monarchies of the gulf, including united arab emirates, whose ambassadors were at the shameful ceremony in washington, our countries like a few otothers in the arab world - egypt and so forth -- ruled in different ways, but in ways that completely exclude representation, democracy, parliaments, public opinion, free press, and so on and so forth. those countries where it does atst, yet popular outrage what is being taught in

washington. the absence of democracy in the arab world is a precondition for this kind of thing happening. only regimes which completely -- which are capable of completely suppressing their public opinion, would support such an outrageous derogation of international law, arab rights, the arab dignity, as, unfortunately, few of these governmentnts have and i'm afrad will. it is vitatal to understand thee are not the arabs. these are a group of kleptocratic who control their countries absolutely against the will of their people and are able to get away with this partly because there are elected by the united states. you had a few air governments that have either squeaked their approval or failed their disapproval or shamefully send their ambassadors to this sham ceremony. it is vital to understand what they are and who they are and what they represent. they don't represent anybody except the elites, which

dominate those countries. thank youd khalidi, for being with us edward said , professor of modern arab studies at columbia university. his latest book just out "the , hundred-years war on palestine." we continue with mehdi hasan at the intercept talking about the senate impeachment trial of president trump. on tuesday, senate majority leader mitch mcconnenell told fellow republican senators in a private meeting that he does not yet have enough votes to block democrats from calling impeachment witnesses. democrats have been pushed for former national security advisor john bolton to testify. on sunday night, "the new york times" published details about a manuscript of bolton's forthcoming book where he claims trump personally told him he wanted to maintain a freeze on $391 million in military aid to ukraine unless ukraine turned over materials related to former vice president joe biden. on tuesday, trump's defense team wrapped up their opening arguments. trump's lawyers, including jay sekulow, repeatedly tried to

dismiss the reports about bolton as allegations. >> the trial of the leader of the free world and the duly elected president of the united of leaks is not a game and unsourced manuscripts. that is politics, unfortunately. and hamilton put impeachment in the hands of this body, the senate, precisely and specifically to be above that fray. amy: the impeachment trial continues today for a phase were senators will have eckstein to hours ask questions to the house impeachment managers and the president's legal team. though they cannot do directly. to talk more about impeachment, we are still with mehdi hassan in washington. sesenior columnist at the intercept and host of their deconstructed podcast. also host of "upfront" at al jazeera english. it looks like the vote will come on friday on whehether there wil

be witnesses. you have president trump's foformer chief of f staff generl john kelly -- not always a fan of john bolton -- essentially calling trump a liar, saying he believes what john bolton is saying, that he directly told bolton that he was withholding the 80 ukraine -- aid to ukraine to get them to investigate his political rival joe biden. talk abobout the s significancnf what has happened so far. >> it is very significant in the sense that it is y yet another reminder that dodonald trump isa liar. john kelly calling him a liar. he like on twitter. you just put out a couple of tweets in which there are multiple lies claiming witnesses early for the house, not the senate -- which is not true. is only significant in it reminder the trump administration and the senate and house are lying to us about this, but also a reminder about how this trial is not really a trial because it doesn't involve

any witnesses at the moment. there have been 15 impeachment trials in the senate since the beginning of the united d state, including judges -- not just two presidents. every single one of those 15 impeachment trials, there have been witnesses. at the bill clinton impeachment trial, there were three witnesses. idea that you can have a trial without any witnesssses i think is absurd. i think even the average american, even a republican, would accept that premise is absurd. the idea you have a trial in which jurors -- that is with republican senators are -- are going on the rececord saying we are coordinating with the white house and have no interest in being fair or impartial, as mitch mcconnell and lindsey graham said. this whole trial has been a farce since dayay one. jay sekulow has been lying since day one about the entire process. multiple factually inaccurate

statements put forward by the trump legal team. now you have john bolton revelation, which is hugely ironic because we've always known john bolton wanted regime change around the world. i just did not realize he wanted it in n washington, d.c. he e has come out with this book that will come out in a few says the he basically president told me hold that military aid until we get these investigations into the bidens from the ukrainians. what is so interesting is the trump p legal team's argument hs been we have not heard a single fact testify that this happened. a andis a kind of chicken egg situation because you need to let john boltlton testify and then you will have a fact witness who says this happened. the whole republican strategy has been, we can't allow witnesses to come forward andnd say what happened but at the same time they are saying, amy, there are no witnesses who have come forward. they want to have their cake and eat it which is bizarre and dishonest.

amy: can you talk about the division in the republican party ? we are broadcasting from utah. the significance of utah's junior senator, mitt romney, saying he is definitely calling for witnesses? did he have susan collins who often makes noises but usually sides with the president. markowski in alaska and lamar alexander of tennessee? >> i think you put your finger on it when he said susan collins, who usually makes these noises and insides with the president. that is a pretty accurate description of every "moderate republican" in the era of trump. we have seen a script before we they makake the ghght noises so they me to them seriously. some saying, we were hearing out the house managers. and then adam schiff said something mean so now we might -- we are not listening anymore. it is s childishsh behavior. it is cynical and self-serving behavior. i would advise e everyone at hoe and my colleagues to not fall

for this same trick again. we saw this during the brett kavanaugh impeachment hearings where people came out and said, jeff flake, the great m moderate republican senator, came out inside, let's have an fbi investigation -- which was really not the investigation, just a fig leaf. it enable people like jeff like to say, look, we're listening to the evidence, not just being trump shows. that is the case with all of thesese republican senenators. think they're actually going to vote for witnesses. i don't think mitch mcconnell is going to lose his vote. i do think the democrats should call republicans bluff. come out and say, yes, you want joe biden? have joe biden. have hunter biden. ubernd the house managers' drivers? who have or you want to give us

john bolton, mick mulvaney, people was to the president were part of the conversation which the president did all of this debt that he claims he did not. amy: mehdi hasanan, thank you fr being with us, senior columnist at the intercept and host of their deconstructed podcast. also host at al jazeera english. we will stream the impeachment trial every day at democracynow.org. to southck, we go dakota. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, i'm amy goodman. the south dakota legislature is expected to debate a bill today would criminalize gender-affirming surgery for transgender youth. if passed, house bill 1057 would make it a felony for doctors to provide anyone under the age of 16 with puberty blockers, hormones, and other tranansition-related health car. medical professionals who do provide this care would face up to 10 years in prison. the republican-backed bill passed in committee last week. quincy parke, a transgender youth, testified against the south dakota bill. >> let me be clear. as someone who researched my own treatment options and someone who this bill would directly affect, what you're doing is not preventing harm. you are actively denying medical treatment to children who have such strong feelings and disconnect from their bodies that over half of them m are or

have been suicidal at some point in their life. amy: on tuesday, south dakotaa inintroduced another anti-tranas bill t that would authorize parents to deny gender affirming treatment to their children. it's s the third d bill targegeg trans youth introducuced in souh dakota this year alone and one of at more than 25 anti-lgbtq bills introduced around the country.y. on monday, i spoke to chase strangio, deputy director for transgender justice with the aclu's lgbt & hiv project and the award-winning director yancy ford, who became the first openly transgender director nominated for an academy award for his film "strong island" in 2018. i began by asking chase to talk about what is happening in south dakota. >> what we're seeing over the course of the last five years are escalations in attacks from state lawmakers on lgbtq people, particularly on trans youth.h. this year, south dakota has a bill that will actually criminalize lifesaving care for trans young people. we are talking about care that

the american academy of pediatrics recommends, american medical association recommends. lastly a study documented the provision of this very care reduces suicidality in transgender young people. now we have lawmakers disregarding science, disregarding the urgent needs of the trans-community and saying we do not care that you might die. we're going to make our health care and your life a crime. i have to say having done this work for a long time, this truly is one of the most drastic measures that i've seen moving through a state legislature and is at risk of passing. amy: if you can also explain both the science of these drugs, but then what this bill says that they would put a medical provider in jail for up to 10 years for engaging in medical treatment of a patient? >> these bills criminalize health care that has been provided to trans-young people

for decades, including puberty blockers, which are medical interventions that really just put a pause on puberty so young people are able to affirm their gender and ultimately go through puberty consistent with who they are. these are medications that are used for a range of different conditions. under the bill, they would be perfectly fine if used for other conditions. only for transgender young people with a become a crime. the same is true for the hormone therapy the legislation would criminalize. the lawmaker supporting the bill are talking about surgery, but the bill criminalizes many nonsurgical interventions for trans youth that have been utilized to save liveves and ensusure that trans-yououng peoe have comparable health outcomes to the non-transgender peers. the bill itself is targeting medical professionals, which would not only compromise our licensure, but from allies they care they provide, including potentially throwing medical providers in jail for providing care that would save the lives

of their patients. at the committee hearing in the house, the head of the south dakota acacademy of f pediatri testifieied they had 200 years opposition experience in the room and the legislature was urging them to make a decision between jail and saving the lives of their patients. even in the face of that testimony, they moved this will forward. amy: i want to go to the bill's sponsor. this is south dakota republican legislator fred deutsch speaking in a v video posted on thee famy heritage alliance facebook page. like ii a bill to helplp, said, with these children that are suffering. it prevents surgeries. it prevents prescription of puberty blockers to o block your normal developmental puberty, as well as gives them strong cross sex hormones. if they are a boy, it would prevent strong applications of

estrogen. if you are a g girl, the testosterone. both of them messed children up terribly. we are talking about utilization, sterilization, and host of other medical complications, thinning of the bones, brain issues, heart issues. it is just crazy what is going on. we are trying to protect our kids. amy: that is out dakota republican legislator fred deutsch, the sponsor of the bill. isse strangio, he says he saving children's lives. respond to his arguments. >> the first and most important response is he is killing children. he is a chiropractor, who every single year introduces multiple bills targeting the trans community. every year we fight them with the truth of our lives, with science on our side, with business on our side, with whole communities trying what he is doing is a systematic attack on

our community. i have to say it is getting so difficult year after year to hear these attacks. we already lost one of our lead trans activists to suicide who fought against these bills. now we have lawmakers distorting science and the servicice of actually document -- true documentation acting in ways that will kill young trans people. i used to think it was about fear or confusion and now i think they are in plummeting a plan they actively don't want us to survive. we are going to fight back against that. amy: chase strangio, can you talk about the fact this bill come the vote on the bill, has been delayed from monday to we believe wednesday? is there something significant in t this? are they getting a lot of response from around the country? and also if you can comment on the south dakota government -- governor who said she has "a few concerns" about the bill. what you understand or her hesitations? >> we don't know why it was

delayed but i will interpret it as favorable to our site. he gives us more time to push people to continue to contact her lawmakers and it did come after the governor expressed concerns about the belt. she specifically noted the bill interferes with the parental rights to dictate the health care for their minor children -- which is a long-standing fundamental right. the aclu has made it clear we will sue them if they pass this will. we are driving support all across the country for the trans community, making sure every single lawmaker in south dakota knows we are watching their vote in the house and if they move from the house to the senate, we will be holding them accountable there as well. hopefully, this means they are reconsidering their votes and that we can ultimately stop this thing. no matter what, whether it happens, both chchambers, we wil keep pushing the governor to make sure she knows those concerns arere legitimate she should absolutely veto this if it gets to her desk. if she signs it into law, we will see her in.

amy: i want to bring in yancy ford to this conversation. but if you arare featured in ths do incredible documentary called "disclosure" about trans life. yancy ford is the first openly trans director to be nominated for an oscar. lastly, though you were not in south dakota, you were tuning in to thehe stream m of south dakoa public broadcasting watching this debate closely. your response to what you were saying on the floor the south dakota legislature? >> i was appalled. i wawas appalled to listen to legislator w who was climbingg ununder the auspices o of proteg to have thehildren right t to insert themselves in his belief into lifesaving medical treatatment that is provided by professionals -- doctors, actual people with actual medicalal t training, sce behind them -- to provide

children in n south dakota with gender affirming treatment that children andnd their parents sek out. it was amazing to me to hear someone actually claim that a "natural pause" the posit would allow for puberty t to kick in n "solve some children's gender dysphoria." was like tuning inter broadcast from mars where the crazy people had taken charge of the legislator and were all of the sudden doctors and psychiatrists an endocrinologist and you better than thehe hundred years collecd medical list -- in addition to parents in the room. howeverer ceases to amamaze me determinined peoplee are to erae trans people, even when n theye

childrdren. 16, 15,er when i was 14, being fully aware o owhat i was dealining with. if i had had t those choices, if my parents had had those choicis when i was that t age, i wouldld have had a different childhood. and that someone wants to say no, you cannot provide love and care and medical treatment and affirmation to her child because i think that transgender is, to category? -- is a made-up category? i was furious. -- and the mostst scary thing about that for me, it is not just south dakota. i think there are 13 other states that are going to introduce legislation identicall to the legislation introduced by this lunatic. amy: i want to get

to that come the other legislation. but first, chase strangio, in 2016, you wrote a piece on the aclu's blog titled "if i were a student in south dakota, chances are i would not survive into adulthood. you talked about suicidality. can you give us the figures on trans youth taking their own lives? >> it is staggering. i wrote that piece in 2016 because i was in the same exact position considering aborted our trans am people -- to bar trans young people. thate talalking about rates are close to 50%. pes.e suicide and ra you have government officials with the most power r in the ste telling young people that they either don't exist or that they shouldn't, we know that exacerbates the rate of suicide.

we also known young people are given access to the very medication that is been criminalized by this bill, those suicide rates dropped to being comparable to non-transgender peers. we have lawmakers equipped with information about how young people can either live or die, and their choosing, quite path of serious harm including early death. i think about myself as a young person and i struggled so much, but i did not have lawmakers telling me that my care should be criminalized. now we are in a context where that is what lawmakers are saying to the youth who are watching and we know they are hurting because of it. i will be out here every single day and i know my other trans folks are, too, to make sure that we tell young people that we are going to fight for them and we stop these things from becoming loss of peoples lifesaving support is not immediately cut off and criminalized. amy: can you talk about the

legislation that is being introduced around the country right now? the anti-trans legislation? >> the bill in south dakota is typical of one of two bills that we are seeing this year that have been introduced in over a dozen states. the bills are both eagles targeting young people to the criminalization or other bands on access to health care, including bills that propose intervening through char protective services for parents who support the trans am people. imagine how important it is to have parental support -- we are seeing proposals to make that support itself potentially a reason to remove a child from the home. that is another way we are talking about doubly dangerous interventions in the survival of trans am people. is second bill those that would bar trans athletes from participating in scholastic athletics consistent with who they are. those bills, like so many bills we have seen in the past, are

fundamentally connected to controlling the bodies of all people. for example, some of these bills talk about how if any girl is ed as a girl, after bring in medical documentation of their internal and external reproductive organs, the chromosomes, and their naturally occurring hormone levels. that will be an unbelievable amount of policing of the bodies of all young women and girls. we are talking about legislation that will have a sweeping impact across the country, not just on trans young people, that any young person he does not fit in specific norms of gender. this is just the beginning of sessions, so i expect we will see a lot more. amy: what are the states to look at where these bills are being introduced? we are following south dakota closely. we have bills in kentucky and oklahoma and georgia and washington and tennessee, indiana, new hampshire. i expect we are going to see

more -- arizona has a few bills pending. every state is on a different timeline in terms of how ugly these things will move. i think whatever happens is south dakota will ultimately set the tone so it is critical we stop that bill so that we can continue to build momentum to ensure that we are able to momentum to ensure that we are able to protect trans young people from these really egregious attacks all over the country. amy: finally, can you talk about the parallels to anti-choice legislation around the country? it sounds so similar to arguments made against aboborti, legislators tryiying to say that it is the abortion that will endanger a woman's life as opposed to a backstreet alley abortion? are we sing parallel legislation in thehese states? >> absolutely. we are seeing the reality that our gender justice movements are completely tied together and our opponents are operating out of

the same playbook will step the very things that have progressed to the anti-choice movement over the years around criminalizing the bodies of people who are pregnant, restricting access to bodily atomic, and then criminalizing the medical providers who provide medical care is well supported by the medical profession is exactly what we are seeing here. it is in the same states. for example, and georgia, were they threatened to introduce a mental ban on health care for trans people, they passed a weeknal ban -- a 10 abortion ban. they following the same playbook across the country and working together. it is important we recognize we have to work together because all of these fights are but whether or not we will be able to contain control over our body and self-determination, and that will impact every aspect of our lives bashar ability to control our futures in the labor market, our education, our opportunities, our family planning. these are criritical edge be dq issues, racial and economic

issues as well. amy: chase strangio, deputy director for transgender justice with the aclu's lgbt & hiv project. openlyord, first transgender director nominated for an oscar award for his film "s"strong island" in 2018. and that does it for our show. we will be livestream the senate impeachment trial starting at 1:00 p.m. eastern time today, as we do every day during the impeachment trial. on thursday, we will be joined by the actor, direrector, writer viggo mortensen about his new film called "falling." thursday's performance here in salt lake city -- rather, in park city, egyptian theater of howard zinn's "the people's history of the united states." howard zinn died 10 years ago this week. i will also be speaking at 2:00 on friday here in park city at

the park city museum right next to dolly's bookstore. you can check it out at democracynow.org. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]