More than 9 in 10 (93%) of transgender youth ages 13-17 in the U.S. have passed or are currently considering restrictions on transition-related health care, school bathrooms, sports participation, and use of pronouns. lives school, according to a new report.
A report released Tuesday by the Williams Institute at UCLA Law School estimates the number of transgender youth affected by these four restrictive measures, which LGBTQ advocates typically oppose, and two other laws that are commonly supported: “shield” transition care laws and bans on so-called conversion therapy. Researchers focused on previously passed laws and measures still under consideration in state houses.
There are approximately 300,000 trans youth between the ages of 13 and 17 in the United States, and a reported 38% of them receive transition-related medical care (puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgery); 40% live in 27 states where opportunities to participate in sports are restricted or where public policy encourages such restrictions; 13% live in 13 states that restrict access to school bathrooms and other sex-segregated facilities; and 16% live in 14 states that restrict or prohibit the use of gender-inconsistent pronouns in schools or other public institutions.
The Williams Institute report also found that 123,600 trans youth, or 41%, live in 16 states with transition health care bans expected in the 2024 legislative session, and 102,300, or 34%, live in 14 states with restrictions. about expected sports participation.
The laws are among a wave of bills by Republican lawmakers in recent years targeting LGBTQ people. In 2023, conservative state legislators introduced more than 500 such bills. the previous year’s record More than 300. So far this year, there are state lawmakers 487 such bills were submittedAccording to the American Civil Liberties Union.
The Williams Institute also looked at measures generally supported by LGBTQ advocates and found that nearly half, or 48%, of trans youth in the US live in 14 states and Washington, D.C., that have passed “shield” transition laws. related care. These laws for example, signed last year by New York Governor Cathy Hochul, for example, prohibits state courts from enforcing the laws of other states that would allow a child to be taken from their parents if the parents provide transitional care. Some shield laws also protect physicians who care for minors who travel from states where such care is prohibited.
The report also found that nearly two-thirds of trans youth live in 27 states and Washington, D.C., which ban conversion therapy, a discredited practice that attempts to change an LGBTQ person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. there is adverse mental health effects.
In the report, the types of laws affecting trans youth — positive and negative — are largely determined by their geographic location. For example, 85% of trans youth in the South and 40% of trans youth in the Midwest live in a state that has passed one of the four types of restrictive laws assessed by the Williams Institute. All trans youth in the Northeast and 97% of trans youth in the West live in a state with either a shield law, a ban on conversion therapy, or both.
“For the second year running, hundreds of bills affecting transgender youth have been introduced in state legislatures,” said Elana Redfield, director of federal policy at the Williams Institute, the report’s lead author. “The disparate legal landscape has created a deep gap in rights and protections for transgender youth and their families across the country.”
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