In December, advocates and allies spoke before the Department of Family and Protective Services for the fourth time since Gov. Greg Abbott issued an illegal directive directing the department to investigate parents who provide health care to transgender children. The chilling effect of the directive has driven some practitioners to stop providing health care to transgender young people.
Unfortunately, cutting off life-saving healthcare is nothing new to the LGBTQ+ community. As the AIDS crisis spread rapidly across the United States, absurd theories were advanced, stereotypes and stigma were pervasive, and the government was slow to respond with tragic consequences. To this day, Bexar County is still reeling from those missteps.
The LGBTQ+ community has long struggled with government-imposed barriers to healthcare, but the tactics we’re seeing today are new. Transgender people have many unique medical needs, and medical societies have established best practices to ensure outcomes that meet patient needs. However, our state governments are determined to intervene in private healthcare decisions.
Last February, Abbott issued a directive on transgender procedures, prompting the Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate whether parents of transgender children abused their children. Their fault: putting their children’s health and well-being first by working with medical professionals to provide them with best-practice care.
Not knowing how to care for transgender children is forgivable. Few lawmakers in the Capitol have the medical expertise to understand these issues, yet they are determined to undermine the doctors and families who know their children best.
Many doctors and medical centers have been forced to deny new transgender patients despite the Texas Supreme Court ruling that the governor’s order has no legal force. Some have stopped providing trans-focused care to young people altogether.
The San Antonio community in particular has been painfully affected by this chilling effect. To the best of our knowledge, no health care provider in San Antonio publicly offers comprehensive health care to meet the needs of transgender youth, prompting Bexar County residents to seek care in Austin or through telemedicine. Few can afford the time and expense to seek care elsewhere, potentially leaving many young people without the life-saving care they desperately need.
According to The Trevor Project, more than half of trans and nonbinary youth have seriously considered suicide in the past year. Yet we know that providing comprehensive health care to transgender youth can significantly reduce suicide and depression. So, we are not exaggerating when we say that this type of care saves lives.
Texans deserve a home where every child is protected and every family is respected. Families remaining in Texas held their breath, waiting to see what the legislature would do. Many are making plans to flee if things get worse.
At the height of the AIDS crisis, treatment was not available and the government was not listening to the community. Today, transgender youth have access to health care, and medical associations have established practices to ensure the highest standards of care. Decisions made at the top will determine who lives and who dies. Will we repeat our mistakes or learn from the past?
Sofia Sepulveda is the community engagement and advocacy manager for Equality Texas and a longtime San Antonio resident and activist. Ricardo Martinez is the CEO of Equality Texas, the largest nonprofit in Texas dedicated to achieving full equality for LGBTQ+ people.
