March 15, 2022
As Texas’ governor attempts to criminalize medical treatments for transgender youth, experts say there are many ways to help adolescents who are questioning their gender.
Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas declared last month that medical treatments given to transgender adolescents, including puberty-suppressing drugs and hormones, could be considered child abuse under state law. Opponents of the move swiftly responded, including President Biden, who described the decision as “cynical and dangerous.” Investigations of alleged abuse sparked by the order were temporarily halted last week after a state court ruled that the policy was “unconstitutional.”
According to a 2019 C.D.C. study, 1.8 percent of U.S. teens identify as transgender, meaning that their gender identity does not match the gender they were assigned at birth. When researchers interviewed teens in Pittsburgh as part of a 2021 study, they found that nearly one in 10 did not identify as being exclusively male or female. These adolescents are becoming more vocal about their identities and experiences, as The Times found in a 2019 survey.
Children and teens who do not identify with their assigned gender can face higher rates of depression, suicide and self harm than other kids do. Research shows that they have better mental health outcomes when they have access to what doctors call gender affirming care, which can include mental health therapy and hormone treatments. There does exist some disagreement among doctors and advocates of gender affirming care over which adolescents could benefit most from certain treatments. Still, experts think these decisions should be made bydoctors, patients and their parents — not by governors or state agencies.
We interviewed child health care providers who focus on gender to understand the best ways that parents and other adults can offer support to adolescents on the gender spectrum.
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