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The reason behind Tennessee’s prohibition on gender-affirming care was due to the establishment of a transgender care clinic by Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2018. After several years, conservatives demanded an inquiry into the clinic.
Written by Emily Cochrane
In 2018, Vanderbilt University Medical Center introduced a new transgender clinic, but the announcement was not widely noticed. The news release only included basic information such as the clinic’s address, operating hours, and the names of two key staff members.
Four years after its establishment, the clinic gained attention when Matt Walsh, a conservative political commentator from The Daily Wire in Nashville, released a series of posts and videos discussing the clinic. In these posts, it was mentioned that a staff member at the clinic had referred to gender-affirming medication and surgery as profit-driven and had used harsh language to criticize the treatments offered at the center.
The healthcare facility, not affiliated with Vanderbilt University, disagreed with the criticism. They stated that their clinic’s purpose is to provide healthcare services to a group of people who are at high risk for mental and physical health problems and have historically not received adequate care from the US healthcare system.
The hospital stated that they do not treat children under 18 without parental consent, and they will not require any staff member to provide care if it goes against their personal or religious beliefs.
Members of the conservative political party demanded that the clinic be investigated, and Republican officials voiced their opposition to gender-affirming care for children at a rally organized by Mr. Walsh in Nashville in October 2022. When Tennessee lawmakers met in January 2023, they introduced Senate Bill 1, which aimed to ban gender-affirming care. Despite opposition from transgender individuals and the majority of Democrats, the bill was ultimately approved.
Emily Cochrane is a journalist who reports on news in the American South for The Times. She is located in Nashville.
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