More than 700 Tennessee health care workers have signed an open letter to state lawmakers, asking them to revisit the state’s all-out abortion ban.
Vanderbilt was never doing genital surgeries on minors but agrees to ‘pause’ other gender-affirming procedures
Vanderbilt University Medical Center has agreed to pause gender-affirming surgeries performed by its pediatric transgender health clinic, which has been under fire from Republican lawmakers. Vanderbilt has now responded to a letter signed by 62 GOP members of the Tennessee House of Representatives who demanded the clinic stop surgeries on minors.
Physician groups request DOJ investigate those targeting of pediatric trans care
National physician groups are now asking the Department of Justice to investigate threats to children’s hospitals over care for transgender teens. The clinic at Vanderbilt is just one of several that have been targeted by far-right activists.
Protestors who blocked a Mt. Juliet abortion clinic in 2021 have been charged with federal crimes
A group of anti-abortion protestors face felony charges for trying to block patients from entering a Mt. Juliet abortion clinic last year. The indictment, unsealed Wednesday, alleges that the 11 protestors met and organized over social media, before staging a blockade at the carafem health clinic.
Vanderbilt’s pediatric transgender health services are back online — with an update
The websites for both VUMC’s minor and adult clinics have been down, following attacks from a far-right podcaster and Republican elected officials.
Southern Baptists pushed to ban abortion, but their leader wants a key safeguard added in Tennessee
Tennessee is one of the few states that has banned abortion with no exceptions. The law has what’s known as an “affirmative defense” if a doctor performs an abortion because the pregnant person’s life was in danger. The newly elected Southern Baptist Convention president, Bart Barber, says that’s not enough.
Parents of trans teens in Tennessee have their own concerns about rushing treatment, but they fear losing the option
Conservatives are ramping up a campaign to end transgender care for minors in Tennessee. But the journey of one Nashville teenager in the midst of a gender transition shows just how painstaking the process already is.
Tennessee hospital chiefs huddle to address hiring crisis
Tennessee hospital chiefs huddled in Franklin this weekend, largely to focus on their shared hiring crisis. The staffing shortage has not eased even as the pandemic subsides, and many hospital leaders are beginning to get used to high turnover.
Republican lawmakers threaten new restrictions unless Vanderbilt commits not to perform gender transition surgeries on minors
A letter signed by most House Republicans formally asks Vanderbilt Medical Center to halt gender transition surgeries for transgender children and teens.
For trans teens in Tennessee, state law has a limited say in guiding their care — for now
Attacks on the care of transgender teens in Middle Tennessee has prompted calls by conservatives for investigations and new laws. Right now, there isn’t but one related law on the books, and it’d be hard to break.
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