Transgender kids in Texas face challenges accessing gender affirming health care

Transgender kids in Texas face challenges accessing gender¹ affirming health care

Transcript²

The governor of Texas wants hormone³ therapy for transgender kids classified as child abuse. One family is nervous that they may now become targets, but they don't want to leave the state.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Transgender kids in Texas and their families are facing new challenges accessing gender-affirming health care. Governor Greg Abbott directed Child Protective Services to investigate parents who allow this care, saying it falls under a new interpretation⁴ of child abuse. Houston Public Media's Sara Willa Ernst spoke⁵ to a family nervous they may now become targets.

SARA WILLA ERNST, BYLINE⁶: The Texas Legislature already tried to ban transgender kids from accessing puberty blockers, hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgeries. Two bills died during last year's session. Pilar Hernandez, the mom of a 17-year-old transgender boy, was hoping her family's nightmare was over.

PILAR HERNANDEZ: So I have this fantasy that this year we'll be able to at least rest a little.

ERNST: Those bills sought to charge parents with child abuse for letting their kids access treatments that the medical community largely agrees can be lifesaving. Trans kids face higher rates of suicide, anxiety and gender dysphoria, mental health issues that have gotten better for Hernandez's son Alexander after starting testosterone a few years ago.

ALEXANDER HERNANDEZ: I feel great about it. It's one of the best things I've done for my health all around.

ERNST: Texas's top leaders are now using a different legal tactic⁷ to criminalize transition care. Instead of passing a new law, they're interpreting existing laws in a new way. The state's attorney general issued an opinion saying these treatments constitute child abuse, and then Governor Abbott directed investigations⁸ to start. Here's Abbott on "The Mark Davis Show" in December, where he improperly⁹ described gender-affirming surgery as mutilation.

(SOUNDBITE OF RADIO SHOW, "THE MARK DAVIS SHOW")

GREG ABBOTT: Any type of genital mutilation is child abuse. (Laughter) I don't think anybody can disagree with that.

ERNST: District attorneys in some of Texas's blue counties say they'll refuse to prosecute¹⁰ parents or clinics. For now, the AG's response is an opinion on a hypothetical situation, says Shelly Skeen, senior attorney at Lambda Legal, which advocates for LGBTQ people.

SHELLY SKEEN: It is what I'm going to call an advisory¹¹ opinion about what might be the legal implications of a particular course of action. But there's no real, live people involved. You're not in a court of law.

ERNST: Alexander, who's a junior in high school, knows it's just an opinion. But he worries that trans kids, already an invisible minority, might hide even further to protect their families.

A HERNANDEZ: To be threatened with legal action and allegations of child abuse is very, very frightening. I'm also very worried for all of my trans friends. A lot of us deal with really bad depression and anxiety, and it gets significantly worsened with news like this.

ERNST: Alexander's mom says they have the means to move out of state, but that doesn't mean they want to.

P HERNANDEZ: We like Texas. It is our home. We shouldn't be able to, you know, escape. We live in a democracy. We live in a place where civil rights - they're supposed to mean something.

ERNST: Last week, Governor Abbott sent a letter to the Department of Family and Protective Services, directing the agency to begin investigating reports. A department spokesperson told the Texas Newsroom that the agency will follow the AG's interpretation of the law, but there were no pending¹² cases as of last Monday.

For NPR News, I'm Sara Willa Ernst in Houston.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONLIKS' "HEAR ME")

1 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 hormone   

n.荷尔蒙，激素，内分泌

参考例句：

• Hormone implants are used as growth boosters.激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。
• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body.这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。

4 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

8 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

9 improperly   

不正确地，不适当地

参考例句：

• Of course it was acting improperly. 这样做就是不对嘛！
• He is trying to improperly influence a witness. 他在试图误导证人。

10 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

11 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

12 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。