Families with transgender children in Tennessee are facing difficult decisions due to the state’s ban on certain medical treatments for transgender youth. The Supreme Court is reviewing a legal challenge to the ban on Wednesday.
Tennessee’s ban on certain medical care for transgender youth is causing difficult decisions for families with transgender children. The Supreme Court will be considering a legal challenge to this ban on Wednesday.
The ban has impacted children and teenagers who are transgender, causing their typical teenage experiences to be overshadowed by their gender identity.
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Written by Emily Cochrane
Writing from the city
Some families left immediately after Tennessee prohibited gender-transition care for their children, leading to empty homes and withdrawals from school. Other families decided to stay, making sacrifices like reducing vacations and holiday spending to attend out-of-state doctor appointments.
Even individuals who have chosen to remain in Tennessee have not completely dismissed the idea of leaving the state at some point in the future.
Families are feeling immense pressure as the Supreme Court reviews a challenge to a Tennessee law. They are concerned that a decision in support of the ban, enacted last year, could put their children’s well-being at risk, especially with the new Trump administration promising to enforce limits on transgender individuals.
Kristen Chapman, who relocated from Tennessee with her teenage daughter after the law was enacted, explained that dealing with the situation felt like being forced into a new way of living. She expressed the difficulty of constantly having to explain that the circumstances were beyond her control and that there were no favorable choices available. Chapman likened the experience to a family facing a natural disaster, as it alters their normal way of life and comfort.
Five families and three children agreed to participate in interviews on the condition of anonymity due to fears of retaliation and ongoing harassment.
In my opinion, if your child expresses their identity and needs to you, it is your responsibility as a parent to provide them with support.
The name Kristen Chapman
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