Over Half of Trans Youth Ages Could Face Barriers to Life-Saving, Medically Necessary Gender Affirming Care

New HRC Data

Washington, D.C. — On March 22, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization, released data indicating that more than half (50.4%) of transgender youth (ages 13-17) have lost or are at risk of losing access to age appropriate, medically necessary gender-affirming care in their state - care which is, in many cases, life-saving. The figure was pulled from the more than 300,000 transgender youth aged 13-17 in the U.S., as reported by the Williams Institute. This alarming finding, as bans on gender affirming care are on the verge of going into effect in more than 10 states, is highlighted in a newly launched map developed by HRC that tracks legislative and administrative attacks on gender affirming care. Gender affirming care, when made in consultation between a provider, their patient, and the patient's parents, is backed by decades of research and is supported by every major medical association, representing over 1.3 million doctors nationwide.

However, amid growing disinformation peddled by extremists and national anti-LGBTQ+ organizations, lawmakers in statehouses across the country continue to introduce and pass legislation that severely restricts or prohibits gender affirming care for transgender youth. Additionally, Florida and Texas have prohibited this care through administrative action. Politicians invoke counterfactual concerns about the best interests of transgender youth, but some states, such as Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas are even considering legislation that would ban care for transgender people up to 26 years of age. Indeed, the national anti-LGBTQ+ groups pushing for these bills have admitted that their goal is to ban gender affirming care for all transgender people.

To date:

Seven states have enacted laws banning gender affirming care (AL, AZ, AR, MS, SD, TN, UT)

Four states have passed legislation banning gender affirming care that is currently awaiting signature or veto from their governor (IA, GA, KY, WV)

Six states have advanced gender affirming care ban legislation through one chamber (ID, IN, KS, MT, ND, and OK)

In addition, Florida's Board of Medicine forbade gender affirming care last year via administrative action, which took effect March 16, 2023, and the Governor of Texas last year directed the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate the provision or support of gender affirming care by parents, doctors, or others, as child abuse.