Why Laverne Cox says she won't debate transgender rights

Laverne Cox 2024 US Open Tennis Championships Transgender Pride 2023 march signs trans rights

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The Orange is the New Black actor recently spoke at event for Planned Parenthood where she highlighted the connection between bans on gender-affirming care and bans on abortion.

You won't be seeing Laverne Cox appear on Fox News any time soon — and for good reason.

The transgender actor and icon spoke at event a few weeks ago in Kansas City, Missouri for Planned Parenthood Great Plains, praising the organization's work while highlighting the connection between bans on gender-affirming care and bans on abortion.

Cox shared a snippet of her speech on Instagram where she explained how the media's "debate" about trans people negatively impacted her and discouraged her from engaging in conversations — particularly those she knows she shouldn't need to have. While "the video is grainy," Cox said that she "felt like sharing this sentiment today for anyone who needs to hear it."

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"I was depressed for a really long time because I was aware that I didn't want to go on TV and have debates about my existence, about my right to exist as my authentic self," Cox said in the video, to applause from the audience. "I didn't want to have debates on their terms and with their framing. I refused to do that. My humanity, my right to exist, is not up for debate."

Instead of engaging in these "debates," the Orange is the New Black actor appeared on an episode of The Daily Show ahead of the presidential election to mock Republicans' obsessive attacks on the trans community. She said at the time that the GOP focuses on culture war issues like race and gender because it's "easier than solving problems that actually exist."

"It has been my great honor to support the work of organizations like Planned Parenthood, Center for Reproductive Rights and others throughout my career and life," Cox wrote in the caption of the video, adding, "The relationship between bodily autonomy in reproductive justice and bodily autonomy for trans folks has never been lost on me. I salute those fighting for freedom every day. Thank you!"