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 currently reviewing a legal challenge to this ban.
Tennessee’s ban on certain medical treatments for transgender youth is causing families of transgender children to face difficult decisions. The Supreme Court is reviewing a legal challenge to this ban on Wednesday.
The ban has impacted the children and teenagers in a way that their typical experiences of growing up are now intertwined with their transgender identity.
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Authored by Emily Cochr
Writing from the city
As soon as Tennessee prohibited gender-transition care for their children, some families decided to leave, abandoning their homes and taking their kids out of school. Other families stayed behind but had to make sacrifices like cutting back on holidays and gifts to afford out-of-state doctor appointments.
Some residents who have chosen to remain in Tennessee have not completely dismissed the idea of relocating to another location at some point in the future.
Families are feeling a lot of pressure as the Supreme Court reviews a challenge to a Tennessee law. They are worried that if the ban is upheld, it could put their children’s care at risk, especially with the new Trump administration promising restrictions on transgender individuals.
Kristen Chapman expressed that having to constantly explain that she didn’t choose the situation and there are no good choices forces her to adopt a different mindset. She left Tennessee with her teenage daughter after the law was passed because she felt like a natural disaster had occurred within her family, altering their well-being and sense of security.
Parents from five different families, along with three of the children, consented to be interviewed on the condition of anonymity due to fears of reprisal and ongoing harassment.
In my opinion, if your child expresses their identity and needs to you, as a parent, it is your responsibility to offer them your support.
The name Kristen Chapman
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