This year so far has been difficult for our communities. Our opposition in the legislature, emboldened by fringe extremists and copycat legislation, has been targeting our trans communities, especially trans kids. In June, they passed three bills – a trans sports ban, a “Don’t Say Gay” bill, and a gender-affirming care ban for youth – which were vetoed by the Governor.
At the time that I’m writing this, the General Assembly hasn’t overturned Governor Cooper’s veto, but that may not be the case by the time this is published. And regardless of where we are, it’s clear that the legislature intends to pass bills, like HB 808, which make gender-affirming care nearly inaccessible to trans youth in our state. If you haven’t already, I urge you to contact your legislators, using our handy form, and tell them to vote no on the veto overrides.
Our opposition has pushed relentlessly forward, attacking vulnerable kids with fake news and alarmist talking points. But the truth of the matter is that gender-affirming care has been shown to be an incredible helpful intervention for transgender youth. Evidence-based best-practice medical care for transgender youth simply delays puberty until young people are old enough to make their own decisions about their lives. And research shows that transgender youth whose families support their gender identity have a 52% decrease in suicidal thoughts, a 48% decrease in suicide attempts, and significant increases in self-esteem and general health. On the flip side, denying best-practice care and support to transgender youth can be life-threatening. It’s been shown to contribute to depression, social isolation, self-hatred, risk of self-harm and suicidal behavior, and more.
Moreover, the rates of regret for gender-affirming care are exceedingly low. Of people who medically transition, only a small percentage detransition. And those who do detransition do so for a variety of reasons, including changes in the ability to access care, societal transphobia, or better understanding their identity, and don’t necessarily regret the care they received. Moreover, the rate of regret for gender-affirming surgeries is only 1%. For comparison, the average regret rate for most surgeries is 14%, and for some kinds of surgeries are higher. In cases where a physician acted irresponsibly in administering gender-affirming care, we already have medical malpractice as a structure in place to hold care providers responsible – there’s no reason except for transphobia to subject gender-affirming care to extra scrutiny.
In addition to these benefits, there’s another less quantifiable, but no less important element: the feeling of being more at home in one’s own body. Our youth deserve the opportunity to live as themselves and live their truth, and this care is an incredible gift. Our state should not be telling our trans youth that they cannot access this crucial, life-saving, and life-affirming healthcare.
That’s why we’re partnering with the Campaign for Southern Equality to bring the Southern Trans Youth Emergency Program to North Carolina, to help offset the harm of House Bill 808. The program, known as STYEP for short, offers crucial assistance to trans youth and families in need after legislation like this. They give grants to families to facilitate travel out of state, they help refer patients to care in other states, they help fund organizations working to help trans kids and their families, and the project also disseminates helpful practical advice and information to trans kids and their families to help deal with the nightmare scenario of these care bans.
If this ban passes in North Carolina, STYEP’s work will be crucial. It’s in the bold tradition of mutual care, collaboration and aid which queer communities have used to keep each other safe. If the state is hostile to us, then we must work hard for one another. We keep ourselves safe.
You can learn more here and support STYEP’s work here.