A Patchwork of Transgender Healthcare Laws Push Families Across State Lines
Consider This from NPR
NPR
4.2 • 6.2K Ratings
🗓️ 26 July 2023
⏱️ 15 minutes
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Summary
Kat is 14 and transgender. The Utah law banned the medical care that Kat was considering.
Around 20 states have passed similar laws — meaning many families could face the same tough decision: whether to leave their homes and where to go. Often it's to a state like Minnesota, where elected officials have protected trans health care for patients and providers.
We speak with reporters Saige Miller from KUER in Salt Lake City and Dana Ferguson, a political reporter with Minnesota Public Radio to hear how this patchwork of laws in both states affects trans patients and their doctors.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Today, we want to introduce you to Cat. Cat is 14. 14 years of age. Sorry, I'm a bit |
| 0:13.8 | articulate when I finished. Love the show Sherlock Holmes, the one starring Benedict Cumberbatch |
| 0:18.8 | to be clear. I can talk about it all day. And has always called Utah home. But that got |
| 0:26.3 | a lot harder earlier this year. Well, the state of Utah has banned gender affirming |
| 0:31.4 | healthcare for transgender youth. That new law keeps kids from getting gender affirming |
| 0:36.1 | surgeries while putting it in definite moratorium on things like puberty blockers and hormone |
| 0:40.4 | there. Law goes into effect immediately. Cat is transgender. They had been considering |
| 0:46.8 | medical treatment that was instantly banned under that new state law. So when it passed |
| 0:52.7 | back in January, it forced their family into a difficult decision. Stay or go. Here's |
| 1:00.2 | Cat's mom, Jen. I've always said like living here in Utah, I feel like a salmon trying |
| 1:06.4 | to swim upstream. And I'm really tired. My fins are very worn. We aren't using Jen and |
| 1:14.7 | Cat's last name because they have concerns for their safety. Utah isn't alone. There |
| 1:21.0 | are about 20 states with bands on gender affirming care for minors. That means lots of families |
| 1:27.5 | could be faced with the same hard choices as cats. How can I possibly stay and let my |
| 1:34.5 | child be treated like this? Consider this. A patchwork of state laws on medical care for |
| 1:42.6 | transgender children and teens is sending some patients across the country to get treatment. |
| 1:49.4 | We look at how that's affecting families and doctors. It's 2023 and we're making refugees |
| 1:55.8 | within the United States of America. From NPR, I'm Wana Summers. It's Wednesday, July 26th. |
| 2:09.3 | It's consider this from NPR. For families like cats, feeling pressure to leave their home |
| 2:15.4 | when a state like Utah passes a ban on gender affirming care for trans youth, that's just |
| 2:21.7 | half of this story. The other half is about where that family goes. Often it's a state like |
| 2:28.5 | Minnesota where elected officials have protected trans health care for patients and providers. |
... |
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