This is not about protecting parental rights. In a legislative session dominated by anti-LGBTQ bills offered under the guise of “protecting parental rights,” parents who support their LGBTQ kids are having their rights stripped away. 

Whether it’s a parent’s right to access gender-affirming care for their kid, or to request a teacher refer to their child by the name and pronouns aligned with that child’s gender identity – these anti-LGBTQ bills only protect parents whose ideologies align with certain politicians and out-of-state extremists. 

The cruelest example, Senate Bill 480, bans nearly all gender-affirming care for trans youth, substituting the judgment of pandering politicians for that of families, doctors, and youth. 

Much of the furor about trans healthcare isn’t grounded in reality. Rather, it’s propped up by cherry-picked studies, fringe “experts,” a handful of political operatives from outside of Indiana, and fearmongering. 

Let’s cut through the conspiracy theories and get to the facts about the care that transgender youth receive in Indiana.

1. Being transgender isn’t “catching”

Proponents of this ban claim a rise in the number of youth who identify as transgender is evidence of a “social contagion.” In other words, they think that kids are suddenly identifying as trans to be cool. 

The reality is that increasing acceptance of gender differences makes it safer for young people to be open. There aren’t suddenly more trans people, there are just more trans people who feel comfortable being themselves.

I reject the notion that more trans people is a bad thing. Transgender Hoosiers are part of the fabric of our society and deserve to be welcomed.

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My name is Alexa. I am a transgender woman from Indiana. I came out at the age of 35, in September of 2021 and began receiving hormone treatments a few weeks later. As our state legislators roll out this slate of hate targeting transgender youth, I wanted to take a moment to share my journey of trans healthcare with you, and how it saved my life.

I originally realized I was transgender when I was 12 years old. I didn't have the language to fully understand myself, and once I did the rhetoric I heard about people like me made me believe it was wrong so I stayed closeted. This lead to a litany of diagnosis for mental health issues, including a struggle with suicidal ideation. 

Struggling to understand my role in society, and how uncomfortable I felt in my own skin, I first considered and planned my own suicide at 18 as a senior in high school. I considered it again multiple times for years to come, and every instance was for those same reasons. 

In the weeks before I came out, I laid awake at night begging God to kill me because I was afraid I wouldn't be accepted or loved for who and what I am. Thankfully, my loved ones accepted me without conditions. They are a large reason I was able to keep pushing to stay alive and be myself.

After a few months of treatment, my therapist and I started to realize something very promising. Since I had started gender affirming hormone therapy, my mental health improved. My struggles with suicidal ideation started to disappear into the background like a sunset on the beach. I wanted to live. I wanted to go on... I finally could envision myself growing old.  

The hormones didn't change my brain, they changed my body to finally match my brain. And, the more I saw the real me in the mirror, the more my anguish faded. Gender affirming health care literally saved my life. 

There is so much misinformation about this care. One of the most harmful false opinions is that we transition because it is "trendy". I know first hand that this is false. I grew up in a family where transphobia ran rampant. Awful jokes were made about trans people. I was repeatedly told, "you'd be an ugly woman!" I was just a teenager when I was told this.

Despite growing up in a household pushing the same hate speech that our state legislature is using today, I remained transgender. I stayed closeted simply out of fear, but I never stopped being trans. I never stopped being me. And I eventually still realized that I needed to be my authentic self, and I came out so that I could start transitioning. 

No amount of hate or punishment would have changed me, but it did almost kill me. You cannot change who transgender people are, no matter what age they are. However, you can end up with their blood on your hands. That’s what the slate of hate will do: kill kids. Stop this bill, stop this attack, and start saving lives. We have to protect transgender youth and allow them access to their needed medical care. And we need to do it now.