At least 9 states have outlawed best-practice medical care for transgender and nonbinary youth already this year
April 3, 2023 — The Trevor Project, the leading suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ young people, opposes SB 254 and HB 1421 – bills that would ban best-practice medical care for transgender and nonbinary young people, including those who are already receiving such care, across the state of Florida. These bills are being considered by state lawmakers as The Florida Board of Medicine has already enacted a rule that prevents trans and nonbinary young people from receiving this care, even for research purposes, that went into effect on March 16.
“Florida’s leaders have already taken extreme action to ban best-practice medical care for transgender and nonbinary young people across the state – and these latest legislative efforts double down on denying science and medical expertise in hopes of using young trans Floridians to score political points,” said Kasey Suffredini (he/him), Vice President of Advocacy and Government Affairs at The Trevor Project. “54% of trans and nonbinary youth in Florida seriously considered suicide in the past year. These young people are not inherently prone to suicide risk, but rather they are placed at a higher risk because of how they are mistreated and stigmatized in society. Politicians should be creating policy solutions to support the mental health of all young people across the state, not isolating trans youth further. We urge Florida lawmakers to reject these dangerous and unnecessary attacks on best-practice medical care that has saved lives for so many – and stop these bills in their tracks.”
The Trevor Project’s 2022 U.S. National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health by State found that 54% of transgender and nonbinary youth in Florida seriously considered suicide in the past year, and 20% made an attempt. At a national level, The Trevor Project’s data has found that 71% of transgender and nonbinary youth reported that they have experienced discrimination based on their gender identity, and those who have reported significantly higher rates of attempting suicide in the past year compared to those who have not.
However, research has also consistently found that transgender medical care is associated with positive mental health outcomes including showing promise for reducing suicide risk. A 2021 peer-reviewed study by The Trevor Project, the first large-scale study of more than 9,000 youth who received gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT), found that GAHT was significantly related to lower rates of depression, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts among transgender and nonbinary youth. Specifically for young people under age 18, receiving GAHT was associated with nearly 40% lower odds of recent depression and of a past-year suicide attempt.
According to The Trevor Project’s new polling, 86% of transgender and nonbinary youth say recent debates about state laws restricting the rights of transgender people have negatively impacted their mental health. When asked about new policies that will ban doctors from providing gender-affirming medical care to transgender and nonbinary youth, 74% of transgender and nonbinary youth said it made them feel angry, 59% felt stressed, 56% felt sad, 48% felt hopeless, 47% felt scared, 46% felt helpless, and 45% felt nervous.
Further, a 2022 poll conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of The Trevor Project found that a majority of adults agree that transgender minors should have access to gender-affirming hormone therapy (55%) and puberty blockers (52%) if it’s recommended by their doctor and supported by their parents. Only 1 in 3 adults polled said lawmakers should have the ability to outlaw gender-affirming medical care for minors even if such a ban is against the recommendation of doctors and major medical associations.
If you or someone you know needs help or support, The Trevor Project’s trained crisis counselors are available 24/7 at 1-866-488-7386, via chat at TheTrevorProject.org/Get-Help, or by texting START to 678678.
