Executive Summary
Gender-affirming care is considered safe, effective, and medically necessary by major professional health associations, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Endocrine Society. Yet, a growing number of states have taken action to restrict access to this care for youth through enacted or proposed legislation or executive actions. Bills that limit access to gender-affirming health care for minors include criminal penalties against health professionals and parents who provide or enable access to such care.
The Williams Institute estimates that
- 156,500 transgender youth live in 32 states where access to gender-affirming care has been restricted or was at risk of being banned due to legislation filed this legislative session.
- 144,500 transgender youth in 30 states have lost access to care or are currently at risk of losing access to care due to pending legislation.
- 77,900 transgender youth live in 11 states that passed bans or took other executive actions this year or in prior years to prohibit or limit their access to gender-affirming care.
- 18,700 transgender youth impacted by legislative bans recently signed into law in Georgia, Iowa, Mississippi, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Utah and 59,200 transgender youth impacted by bans or executive action in prior years in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, and Texas.
- 66,600 transgender youth in 19 states remain at risk of losing access to gender-affirming care due to pending legislation. These states are Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington, and West Virginia.
- 77,900 transgender youth live in 11 states that passed bans or took other executive actions this year or in prior years to prohibit or limit their access to gender-affirming care.
- 12,000 youth live in two states—Virginia and Wyoming—where bills were introduced this year but did not pass.
- 144,500 transgender youth in 30 states have lost access to care or are currently at risk of losing access to care due to pending legislation.
This report provides information about the current bans, which include over 126 bills filed this legislative session, and the impacts of these bans. It also reviews the larger landscape of state efforts to restrict care and provides an estimate of the number of transgender youth at-risk of losing access to gender-affirming health care due to these efforts.