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In 2018, Vanderbilt University Medical Center opened a clinic for transgender care, which later sparked calls for an investigation from conservatives in Tennessee.
Written by Emily Cochrane
In 2018, Vanderbilt University Medical Center announced the opening of a new clinic specifically for transgender individuals. However, the announcement received minimal attention as it only consisted of a brief news release containing information on the clinic’s location, operating hours, and the names of two senior staff members.
Four years later, the clinic gained attention when Matt Walsh, a conservative political commentator from The Daily Wire in Nashville, shared a series of posts and videos discussing the clinic. In these posts, it was reported that a staff member at the clinic had allegedly referred to gender-affirming medication and surgery as profit-driven and had used harsh language to describe the clinic’s treatments.
The independent medical center, not affiliated with Vanderbilt University, responded by stating that their clinic’s purpose is to provide care to a population at high risk for mental and physical health problems, who have historically been neglected by the American healthcare system.
The medical center confirmed that they do not treat children under 18 without parental consent and will not require any employees to provide care that goes against their personal or religious beliefs.
Conservatives demanded a probe into the clinic, and Republican officials gave speeches at a rally organized by Mr. Walsh in Nashville in October 2022 against gender-affirming treatments for kids. When Tennessee lawmakers met in January 2023, they introduced a bill to ban gender-affirming care, labeling it as Senate Bill 1. Despite opposition from transgender individuals and the majority of Democrats, the bill was successfully passed.
Emily Cochrane is a journalist for The Times who reports on news from the American South. She is stationed in Nashville. For additional information about Emily Cochrane, please visit
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