For Austin Free Press, I interviewed local parents of transgender teenagers about the impact of the recent Supreme Court decision, which upholds bans on gender-affirming care for minors:
Life was already tough enough for transgender Texas kids. But a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling has made things a lot tougher.
Last month’s ruling by the high court upholding Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors reinforces a similar ban Texas enacted in 2023, delivering a pair of legal blows to Texas transgender children and their families.
“Our country is really headed in a direction away from caring about individuals, and it’s still so shocking,” an Austin mother of a 13-year-old transgender girl told Austin Free Press.
The Austin mom, who asked not to be named, added: “I feel like I grew up in a country that was really progressive and supportive of human rights, and we were so proud of everything we had overcome, and we’ve just taken a million giant steps backwards.”
In the wake of those legal decisions, hers and other families with transgender children say they face stark choices: Forgoing care that can improve their kiddos’ mental health, reduce gender dysphoria and suicide rates — or relocate to a state with no ban on gender-affirming care for minors, an option that many families can’t afford.
