Rep. Seth Moulton Slams LGBTQ+ Suicide Hotline Elimination

SALEM, MA — U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton slammed the elimination of LGBTQ+ line of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline under the Trump Administration, effective as of Thursday.

Moulton led a multi-month effort to preserve the "press 3" option of 988. In May, he led over 100 Democrats to call on RFK Jr. and President Trump to scrap their plans to eliminate the service.

Moulton said he is now working on legislation to guarantee federal funding for the LGBTQ+ lifeline regardless of future political interference.

"This shouldn’t be a partisan issue," he said. "Every kid deserves to live. Every kid deserves someone to answer the phone when they need help."

Moulton, who led the bipartisan effort to establish the 988 lifeline in Congress back in 2020, noted that the LGBTQ+ youth-specific line has helped more than 2,000 young people every day.

"Letting kids die is not government reform — it's cruelty," Congressman Moulton said. "When your child is in crisis, the last thing on your mind should be politics. But Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have made mental health a political target, and vulnerable kids are paying the price."

The service provides 24/7 access to trained counselors for LGBTQ+ individuals under 25, a group disproportionately at risk for suicide and mental health emergencies.

"In my home state of Massachusetts, over 40% of LGBTQ+ youth have seriously considered suicide," said Moulton. "We created 988 because we knew it would save lives. And it has."

"The 988 Lifeline's 'press 3' option represents a landmark, bipartisan achievement that has connected more than 1.5 million LGBTQ+ youth in crisis with life-saving care during their darkest moments," said Jaymes Black, CEO, The Trevor Project. "Ending our country's suicide crisis is about people, not politics — and we are devastated that the federal government has prioritized a political agenda over saving the lives of at-risk young Americans.

"Even in the wake of this difficult news, we express our enormous gratitude to the champions in Congress and across the mental health space who have fought to protect these life-saving services — and who continue to fight for a country that supports the health, happiness, and safety of LGBTQ+ young people everywhere."

The Trevor Project's counselors are still available here.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)