Laws in place
Jamie, another parent who asked to be referred to by a pseudonym for safety reasons, moved their family from Texas to Colorado to protect her gender nonconforming teenager.
They said the move took up a lot of their savings -- a costly but important decision families say they had to make.
“That did not feel like normal teenage stress, in Texas,” said Jamie in an interview with ABC News. “Knowing that your governor and the top officials in your state literally don't want you to exist – That's a different kind of stress. It felt very genocidal there.”
Texas has officially banned gender-affirming care for transgender people under 18 and has placed restrictions on public performances that drag performers say could be used to target them.
Texas legislators said this effort is “about protecting children,” Gov. Greg Abbott told Fox News before signing the bill.
Sen. Bob Hall, a Republican who backs the bill, has said: “We protect children against lots of things. We don’t let them smoke. We don’t let them drink. We don’t let them buy lottery cards. … And so we are doing the right thing.”
But parents like Jamie and Susan – and medical researchers at several major national medical associations – assert that gender-affirming care is safe and effective. Some, like the American Medical Association, deem it "medically necessary."
Studies, including research in JAMA Surgery, have shown that gender-affirming care can be life-saving for transgender and nonbinary children and adolescents, promoting positive mental and physical health and well-being.
Abbott’s office has not yet responded to ABC News’ requests for comment concerning people fleeing the state.
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