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Tennessee’s decision to ban gender-affirming care was influenced by the establishment of a transgender care clinic at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2018. After several years, conservative groups demanded an inquiry into the clinic.
Written by Emily Cochrane
In 2018, Vanderbilt University Medical Center launched a new transgender clinic, but the announcement did not receive much attention. The news release only provided basic information such as the clinic’s location, hours of operation, and the names of two senior staff members.
Four years later, the clinic gained attention when Matt Walsh, a conservative political commentator at The Daily Wire in Nashville, created a series of posts and videos discussing the clinic. In these posts, it was reported that a staff member at the clinic had referred to gender-affirming medication and surgery as profit-driven and used harsh language to describe the clinic’s treatments.
The healthcare facility, not affiliated with Vanderbilt University, responded by stating that their clinic’s goal is to provide care for a vulnerable group at risk for both mental and physical health problems, who have historically not received adequate services from the American healthcare system.
The hospital stated that they do not treat children under 18 without parental consent and will not require any staff member to provide care that goes against their personal or religious beliefs.
Members of the conservative party requested an inquiry into the clinic, and GOP officials gave speeches at a rally arranged by Mr. Walsh in Nashville in October 2022 to protest gender-affirming treatment for minors. When Tennessee lawmakers gathered in January 2023, they labeled a bill aiming to prohibit gender-affirming care as Senate Bill 1. Despite opposition from transgender individuals and the majority of Democrats, the bill was approved.
Emily Cochrane works as a journalist for The Times and focuses on reporting news from the American South. She is located in Nashville.
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