Transformative Journeys and Political Pressures in Trans Care

In recent years, there has been a sharp increase in the number of younger Americans who identify as transgender and are seeking medical intervention to support their transition. 

This increase has coincided with laws introduced in Republican State Houses across the country that seek to block trans youth from accessing gender-affirming care. Nowhere is the political battle more polarized and heated than in Texas. 

In the first of two episodes on the situation in Texas, we explore the story of one family seeking such care for their son when the political storm hit. 

Guest: Azeen Ghorayshi, a reporter covering the intersection between sex, gender and science for The New York Times. 

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Background reading: 

• A Texas clinic for transgender adolescents closed last year amid political pressure. Its demise is evidence of how treating trans minors has become a contentious issue in Republican-controlled states.
• Texas officials have begun investigating parents of transgender adolescents for possible child abuse, according to a recent lawsuit. 

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

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