Trans teen grapples with what’s next after Georgia votes to ban most transgender health care for minors
Gov. Brian Kemp is now weighing a bill that bans most types of gender-affirming care for transgender kids.
The measure cleared the legislature Tuesday and prohibits hormone replacement therapy and gender-affirming surgery for minors. Senate Bill 140 is one of many similar bills being passed by Republican-led legislatures around the country.
GOP sponsors say their aim is to protect children from irreversible treatments they may later regret. But for weeks, teens, parents and advocates have come to the Capitol to protest the bill, including 15-year-old Adam.
“We’ve seen trans people in the news a lot more, but it’s not trans people, it’s people talking about them,” Adam says. “So people don’t really get to experience stories about trans people from our own viewpoint.”
WABE isn’t fully identifying Adam to protect his safety. He spoke to WABE just outside the Senate chamber shortly after the final bill passed.
“We, especially trans kids, are only viewed as statistics, when we are individuals with stories and lives with our own goals and aspirations,” he says.
“People online paint trans people as monsters, paint trans kids as victims. And I’m neither of those things. I’m just a normal teenager who happens to have to go through these processes.”
Disclaimer: The audio for this story mentions suicide. If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing 9-8-8, or the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.
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