A new law banning gender-affirming care for minors in Louisiana took effect at the start of the year. Since the legislation was passed last summer, parents have been scrambling for help.

For the last two years, Koen has routinely self-administered weekly testosterone injections without a second thought.

During that time, the trans 17-year-old said his self-image and school and family life has drastically improved. His fear of needles, too, has faded.

“[Transitioning] made me look forward to things more because now I can start paying attention to the better version of myself,” said Koen, who asked to be identified by his first name because of fears for his safety. “It’s something I feel like I’ve needed for a while. I’m able to express myself more fluidly and feel comfortable doing that, which I think is a very big step for me right now.”

At the start of the year, though, a greater worry emerged.

A new law banning gender-affirming care for minors in Louisiana took effect on Jan. 1 prohibiting puberty blockers, hormone treatment, and gender-reaffirming surgery. Now, Koen isn’t sure he could continue his hormone treatment.

Louisiana is one of 22 other states that have enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for minors, disrupting health care needs for trans and nonbinary people.

  • CultHero@lemmy.world
    71·
    10 months ago

    If a child is born with a cleft lip would you repair it or tell them that’s the way god made them and they have to live with it?

    If a child is neurodivergent and has severe gender dysphoria becasue of it do you force them to remain unhappy and uncomfortable or do you help them make adjustments to make them more comfortable?

    If you can’t “fix” the issue isn’t the next best step accommodating for it? If someone is paralyzed and the spine can’t be repaired do you leave them in bed or give them a wheelchair? If I person is deaf do you just leave them in silence or give them hearing aids and/or teach them to sign?

    Being trans is very often like being gay, it’s hardwired into the brain, just like being left handed. If it’s just the way a person’s brain is wired isn’t it better to relieve discomfort by adjusting the physical to match the mental if the mental can’t be adjusted to match the physical?

    There will be kids who are experimenting with their gender identity and decide that they’re most comfortable as their birth gender and that’s great, any form of self discovery is awesome but there will always be people who are gender dysphoric and the most successful way of alleviating that dysphoria is to transition.

    Years and years of therapy come before any form a medical transition for kids and often transition simply means a preferred name change, change of clothes and gender affirming hair style. If a child is comfortable with just those changes then medical transition isn’t necessary. If however they, after therapy and non medical gender affirming care still feel uncomfortable puberty blockers can be used to pause puberty until the child is older. Once they’re older they can decide whether or not transition is the right choice for them.

    No one should go into transition without therapy first but gender dysphoria is so uncomfortable. It’s like walking around in shoes that are 3 sizes too big or too small your entire life. You can get by, but it’s painful.

    • thoughtorgan@lemmy.world
      110·
      10 months ago

      They can do what they want.

      I’m just not a believer that anything is actually being changed. You’ve just making small changes with drugs. Furthering the disconnection from reality and obscuring who you actually are.

      Would have been cool to be born a beautiful woman, but I wasn’t. Gotta work with the cards you’re dealt and accept the body you got. No amount of surgery or hormones is going to actually transition you.

      We don’t treat other mental disorders by feeding into their delusions.

      I’m not religious, none of this is about God for me. I don’t have an issue with gay people. Physical abnormalities at birth are not comparable to encouraging body alteration to feed into a mental illness

          • yuriy@lemmy.world
            5·
            10 months ago

            So you’re actively arguing they not receive treatment for something you do think is a mental illness?

            No wonder mental health is failing so hard across the board, people are just deciding which things do and don’t get treatment all willy nilly based on feelings apparently!

            • thoughtorgan@lemmy.world
              26·
              10 months ago

              I don’t think treatment should be telling them they’re now the gender they want to be instead of figuring out how to accept yourself for who you truly are.

              But that’s my opinion. I don’t need it to be my way. If they are happier, cool for them.

              • yuriy@lemmy.world
                21·
                10 months ago

                You don’t know shit about trans people, but you DO know exactly what treatment entails for them? You’ve got a very human-shaped blind spot in your demonization goggles there, friend. I’d suggest you stop viewing them as some kind of nebulous “enemy”.

                  • yuriy@lemmy.world
                    1·
                    10 months ago

                    Talk about fragile minds, you’re just parroting random hatespeech about a whole ass group of people because… what? What drives a person to do that? At the very least you’re going waayyy out of your way just to be mean, is that cool to you? Is this thing you’re doing productive?

                    It could be said I’m being no more productive, but at least I’m not shitting all over a whole bunch of my fellow humans while doing it. Who hurt you?