Prom
Tennessee banned gender-affirming care following the opening of a transgender care clinic by Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2018. Several years later, conservatives demanded an investigation into the clinic.
Written by Emily Cochrane
In 2018, Vanderbilt University Medical Center quietly announced the opening of a new clinic for transgender individuals. The announcement consisted of a brief news release with information about the clinic’s location, operating hours, and two senior staff members. However, it did not generate much public interest or attention.
Four years later, attention was brought to the clinic when Matt Walsh, a conservative political commentator at The Daily Wire in Nashville, shared a series of posts and videos. In these posts, it was mentioned that a staff member at the clinic had described gender-affirming medication and surgery as profit-driven and used negative language to describe the treatments provided at the center.
The medical center, not affiliated with Vanderbilt University, disagreed with the criticism. In a statement, they explained that their clinic focuses on serving a population at high risk for mental and physical health problems, who have historically not received adequate care from the American 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.
Those with conservative views requested an examination of the clinic, and Republican officials attended a rally organized by Mr. Walsh in Nashville in October 2022 to protest against gender-affirming treatments for minors. In January 2023, Tennessee lawmakers came together and introduced a bill, Senate Bill 1, that aimed to prohibit gender-affirming care. Despite opposition from transgender individuals and the majority of Democrats, the bill was successfully passed.
Emily Cochrane is a journalist who reports on news from the American South for The Times. She is located in Nashville. For further information about Emily Cochrane, please visit
Prom
Index of Pages
Navigation for Site Information