1A Remaking America: The Outlook For Trans Youth In Texas
1A
NPR
4.3 • 4.5K Ratings
🗓️ 31 May 2023
⏱️ 71 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This month Texas became the largest state to do so. The new state law bans hormone therapies, puberty blockers, and gender-affirming surgeries for people under the age of 18. It also includes language about "weaning" trans youth off medication that is not "medically appropriate." Medical experts say there is no safe way to do so.
It passed both chambers of the state legislature and is on Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's desk. Abbott said he would sign the bill.
We discuss the bill and what it means for families and medical providers. We also revisit our conversation from November 2022 in Austin, Texas.
This show was part of 1A's Remaking America collaboration with six partner stations around the country, including KUT in Austin. Remaking America is funded in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Find out how to connect with us by visiting our website.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The |
| 0:07.7 | 2023 has been a record year for legislation aimed at trans youth. More than a dozen states have passed |
| 0:14.4 | laws limiting gender-affirming care for minors that's according to the Human Rights Campaign. |
| 0:20.1 | This month, Texas became the largest state by population to do so with the passage of Senate |
| 0:25.6 | Bill 14. Parents there are making the difficult decision about whether to leave the state. |
| 0:30.9 | Hi, this is Liz. I'm a parent of a trans youth and after this legislative session, we are |
| 0:37.4 | definitely thinking about getting out of the state. Unfortunately, my husband has kind of a dream job |
| 0:43.4 | right now and so it'll most likely be the children and myself moving out at least for the first year |
| 0:50.8 | to see what happens next. It's just no place to continue to keep the kids and keep them safe and |
| 0:57.6 | have them enjoy a childhood whenever they are constantly having to advocate for basic rights. |
| 1:05.2 | Liz, thanks for that message. In November, we traveled to Texas to hear from parents of trans kids. |
| 1:11.1 | We were there as part of our Remaking America collaboration with six partner stations across |
| 1:15.5 | the country, including KUT in Austin. It's a two-year reporting project exploring how democracy |
| 1:21.6 | is working for all of us and how it's not. Here's Sarah, whose name has been changed to protect |
| 1:26.8 | her family's identity. Her nine-year-old daughter is trans. We are surrounded and uplifted by the most |
| 1:34.5 | amazing community here in Austin and so much so that my youngest daughter doesn't really know all |
| 1:43.9 | the horrors that are happening in the world right now that await her sadly. And yes, at some point, |
| 1:49.9 | I have to have that difficult conversation with her, but not yet. She is thriving. She is seen. She's |
| 1:58.9 | valued. She's loved. Direct harm, I think, is going to more directly have to happen to us before I |
| 2:06.4 | make the decision. Okay, it's time. And if it was just me, I would stay here and fight this until I had |
| 2:12.4 | nothing left. We spoke with Sarah back in November and Austin, along with other parents and members |
| 2:17.2 | of the trans community. You can hear that event immediately following this episode. Now that the |
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