In the U.S., health care for transgender people is currently being threatened by a number of legislative efforts to ban or limit gender-affirming care for youth. This June, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health brought together a panel of experts for a webinar discussing the present climate surrounding transgender health care and rights in America.
According to panelist Dr. Angela Goepferd, Chief Education Officer and Medical Director of Children’s Minnesota Gender Health Program, gender-affirming care for youth is defined as “developmentally appropriate care that’s about understanding a young person’s gender experience.” While this may include taking medications, often, gender-affirming care for minors requires no medical interventions and may instead involve supporting new clothing choices or providing counseling.
For many families of young transgender and non-binary people, gender-affirming care has been transformative, especially in the realm of mental health. One study reported that gender-affirming care was associated with 60 percent lower odds of depression and 73 percent lower odds of self-harm or suicidal thoughts. In a country already facing a widespread youth mental health crisis, restricting access to gender-affirming health care is likely to have devastating consequences.
Over the past two years, 20 states have enacted laws limiting or banning gender-affirming health care for transgender youth. While many of these laws are actively being challenged, countless gender-diverse young people now face losing access to health care—putting their physical, social, and emotional well-being at risk.
As attacks on health care for transgender youth have grown, the panelists discussed how these restrictions will also affect access to health care more broadly. For example, recent efforts by Texas Representative Dan Crenshaw have aimed to block federal funding for medical training at children’s hospitals that provide gender-affirming care. Should funding for medical education be eliminated in children’s hospitals, this would lead to a shortage of pediatricians, making it harder for all kids to access any kind of health care.
And it’s not just kids who are being affected. Many of the same states proposing restrictions on gender-affirming care for youth are also pursuing restrictions for adults, such as bans on insurance coverage, or adding burdensome restrictions to accessing care. The panelists discussed the current political climate and its chilling effect on healthcare providers, which has caused some medical students to leave states with bans on providing gender-affirming care. Shortages of medical providers will be harmful to those who already have limited access to health care, such as people living in rural communities.
“This is not just about trans rights,” said panelist Andrea Jenkins, President of the Minneapolis City Council and the first Black transgender woman to be elected to public office. “This is about bodily autonomy and democracy, and who has access and control over their own bodies.”
Limiting access to gender-affirming care has wide-reaching impacts on transgender and non-binary people, as well as others seeking access to health care and the right to make decisions about their bodies. The fight for gender-affirming care is critical—and tied to protecting reproductive and human rights in the U.S., which are also increasingly under threat. Access to safe and quality care for transgender people is ultimately part of the story to ensure and protect the right to health care for all.
To learn more about LGBTQ+ health and human rights, explore some related resources from the Incubator’s online repository: