How Shapiro’s dangerous legal battle could end his political career

Looking back on a failed political career, it is often difficult to pinpoint the exact instant when everything fell apart. 

But the moment Josh Shapiro joined a lawsuit to reinstate sex change procedures for children may be judged by history as his final swan dive.

Last week, the governor of Pennsylvania, in his official capacity, aligned with fifteen Democratic or Democratic-leaning states and the District of Columbia in an attempt to block the Trump administration’s order to end gender-affirming medical interventions for minors. He is the only governor to sign on to the suit — the other states are represented by their attorneys general.

The lawsuit alleges that “the Trump administration has sought to deny their [transgender] very existence, banish transgender residents from the public square, and refuse them medically necessary health care through unlawful executive orders (EOs) and a raft of federal agency actions implementing those EOs.”

Shapiro likes to pretend he’s a moderate, but make no mistake: He is a hard-core progressive — and joining this lawsuit proves it.

Even in his comments reported by the Delaware Valley Journal, Shapiro attempted to frame the legal action in defense of parental and medical freedom rights. 

“The freedom to make health care decisions should be between parents, their children, and their doctor, and I will not stand by while the federal government tries to infringe on the rights and freedoms of Pennsylvania families.”

This is typical Shapiro doublespeak. Reframe the argument, and walk the tightrope between supporting progressive issues and mainstream, commonsense views.

For example, the vast majority of Americans believe that men should not be allowed to compete in women’s sports. On this issue, Shapiro has waffled. He recently described supporters of Pennsylvania Senate Bill 9, aimed at protecting girls’ and women’s sports, as “extremists,” but then declined to comment on whether he would sign the bill if it reached his desk. He made the unfathomable statement that he had not specifically read the bill.

While Shapiro may have successfully dodged the issue of boys in girls’ sports for the time being, his stance on sex transition interventions for children is now well-documented.

A Pew Research poll from earlier this year shows that more than half of Americans support the President’s order making it illegal for healthcare professionals to provide minors with medical care for a gender transition. Only 26 percent of those polled supported Shapiro’s position.

With support that low for this issue, why did Shapiro join the lawsuit?

For a highly ambitious politician who has his sights set on the White House, this decision appears to be political suicide.

Before he can even run for president, it is imperative that he is reelected as governor, but with this lawsuit, I predict his chances have significantly decreased.

His actions beg the question: Who is advising Shapiro? 

Perhaps he’s hired some of Zohran Mamdani’s consultants to guide him. Maybe he assumes if a socialist can win the Democratic nomination for New York City Mayor, then a progressive who supports the mutilation of physically healthy children can win a second term as governor in a purple state, followed by an ascent to the White House?

Possibly he consulted his communications team that has doubled in size since he took office? The governor’s communications office now employs 21 staff and posts regularly on X, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube about all of his “accomplishments.”

Interestingly, there is no mention of this lawsuit on any of the governor’s social media sites, nor is it posted on the governor’s office newsroom webpage. For a guy with a 21-person communications team, it is very odd that he didn’t announce and celebrate the lawsuit. More likely, it was intentional, in line with his lack of transparency on issues he prefers not to discuss.

It seems that once again, Shapiro is trying to straddle both sides of the issue, but I predict it is going to fail. 

Voters did not forget when in 2019 Kamala Harris said she supported government-funded gender transition surgeries for both prisoners and illegal immigrants. Many pundits believe Trump’s “Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you” ads were highly effective and one of the main reasons for his landslide victory.

Signing on to this lawsuit in his capacity as governor, Shapiro is giving a great gift to not only his gubernatorial and potential presidential challengers, but to all Pennsylvanians and Americans. This single decision may represent the turning point and end of Shapiro’s political career. There is no way for him to claim he’s a moderate any longer. Every opponent Shapiro faces will have the opportunity to remind voters of his support for the mutilation of physically healthy children.

And on top of that — Shapiro is using tax-payer dollars to fund this lawsuit, despite the fact that only 26 percent of Americans support his extreme position.

Regardless of what he says, this lawsuit is not about parental rights or medical freedoms. It is about perpetuating dangerous policies that hurt children both physically and emotionally. The research is clear that these medical interventions do more harm than good, yet Shapiro fails to acknowledge the facts.

Every Pennsylvania resident should be outraged at Shapiro for his stance on this issue, joining the lawsuit, and wasting taxpayers’ dollars on policies that are harmful to children.

History may look back and remember this moment as the end of Josh Shapiro’s political career.

Beth Ann Rosica resides in West Chester, has a Ph.D. in Education, and has dedicated her career to advocating on behalf of at-risk children and families. She covers education issues for Broad + Liberty. Contact her at [email protected].