When it comes to policy, El-Sayed said, “I don’t think the government gets to have a say about what healthcare is provided in what circumstances and why. And to me, that is the standard on which we decide how we make healthcare decisions, not what the government says you can or can’t do.”

El-Sayed also argued medical autonomy can be seen as a bipartisan issue.

“Even conservatives agree; they just don’t agree when it comes to trans care and reproductive rights,” he said. “Conservatives fought for a very long time for this legislation called ‘Right to Try’ legislation, which was the idea that the government couldn’t tell you [that] you couldn’t have a certain medication if it was available to you. So they agree that the decision about healthcare ought to be between a person and their provider.”