Transgender youth may soon no longer be able to access gender-affirming health care. A ban on medical transitioning for minors has passed the Tennessee General Assembly and is on its way to the governor’s desk.
The bill would mean no hormone therapy, no surgeries and no puberty blockers — with two exceptions. One is for intersex kids who aren’t easily assigned a gender at birth. Another would be a temporary exception for trans kids who are already taking hormones before the law goes into effect July 1. After that, minors have until March of 2024 to stop their treatments.
Those nine months could be critical for teenagers close to adulthood. Vaniel Simmons of Out Memphis was able to keep taking hormones after Arkansas passed a similar measure. They say some of their friends weren’t so lucky.
“In reality, when you’re talking about access and what health care people can actually get, if doctors are scared to perform things or are scared to help people. You’re not going to get the health care anymore,” Simmons says.
The ACLU of Tennessee says that gender-affirming care saves lives and dramatically reduces depression and thoughts of self-harm in a population with high suicide rates.
The Rev. Dawn Bennett of The Table Nashville, a faith group that centers the LGBTQIA+ community, says she has seen that firsthand. She’s often called to the bedsides of trans teens who have attempted suicide.
“There are at least four human beings that I have touched with my hands who are this side of the grave because of the gender-affirming care that they (received),” Bennett says.
State lawmakers have also passed a ban on drag shows in public spaces, which could jeopardize the future of the state’s Pride festivals. The language of the bill has also drawn concern from the larger LGBTQ community. The ACLU’s Henry Seaton says it could lead to criminalizing trans people — or anyone who doesn’t conform to a certain idea of gender.
“They don’t define male and female impersonators as just drag performers. That can easily be a trans person. There’s the phenomenon of walking while trans, where specifically women of color … often times get the police called on them just for being trans,” Seaton says.
Both bills are now headed to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk. The ACLU and Lambda Legal have both said they will be bringing immediate legal action against the restriction if it’s signed into law.
Correction: A previous version of this story misstated that minors already taking hormones would be able to continue treatment. The measure approved would require all minors to transition off of hormone therapy by March 2024. They would not be able to continue therapy indefinitely.
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