Right-wing news outlet The Federalist seized on the alleged suicide attempt of imprisoned soldier Chelsea Manning to argue that the high rates of attempted suicide in the transgender community are not the result of discrimination, as mainstream medical organizations report. Instead, Federalist author Daniel Payne wrote that “transgenderism is a deleterious psychological affliction” and that a “sane society” should “steer transgender people away from their delusions.”

On July 6, the Associated Press reported that Chelsea Manning -- the soldier and transgender woman imprisoned for sending classified information to WikiLeaks -- was “briefly hospitalized” this week. CNN and TMZ both reported that the hospitalization was the result of a suicide attempt, citing unnamed defense officials.

In a July 7 article responding to these reports, Federalist senior contributor Daniel Payne argued that “the transgender suicide rate isn’t due to discrimination.” Payne dismissed a peer-reviewed article in the New England Journal of Medicine, as well as the consensus of research showing that those who are are harassed, bullied, victimized, discriminated against or rejected by family and friends are more likely to attempt suicide. Instead, Payne falsely maintained that “successful suicide” correlates to “the mental illness, y’all” and pushes for a “sane society” to “steer transgender people away from their delusions”: