This article was originally reported by Caleb Kaufman by Pittsburgh’s Public Source” Copy with the 19thAnd re -published by the partnership of Rewire News Group with the 19th News Network.
On a summer day, Lee was waiting in a doctor’s office, playing Gamepigeon on his phone, telling family stories with his mother and deciding where to dine.
It seemed like a normal afternoon, but the reason for the appointment of Lee was far from normal.
Lee, 17, was there because the UPMC health system, with head office in Pittsburgh, had Cut the gender -confirming care He has received two years – a change driven by a federal executive order. A mix of pharmacy meant that his last puberte-blocker recording never came, and the “teat” period that his doctor had promised to have disappeared. Within a month he experienced hot flashes that he had not felt since he started treatment. Lee was destroyed when he heard that he could no longer receive treatment. “You feel that you are starting from the bottom,” said Lee, who is planning to teach at Carlow University this month.
The sudden disruption of care brought national policy directly into Lee’s house. On June 30, UPMC cut gender -confirming care for patients younger than 19 and quoted compliance with an executive order in January of President Donald Trump. However, the care continues to say legally in Pennsylvania and critics that the decision was less about the law than about protecting federal financing. A UPMC spokesperson said that although they ‘deep empathy’ with affected patients, the Trump administration ‘has made it abundantly clear’ that they can “no longer offer certain types of gender-confirming care without the risk of criminal prosecution.” UPMC’s relocation reflects a wider trend. Large Health Systems-Van Los Angeles in the Children’s Hospital to the health of Penn State-Hebben also put an end to gender-confirming care for minors. The policy has requested A lawsuit of 17 Democratic officialsIncluding Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who claims that the Trump government is putting pressure on providers to reduce services, even if they remain legal.
For two years, Lee was treated at UPMC with puberty blockers and testosterone. Suddenly he and his mother Nicole – identified here by first names only because of concern about privacy and safety – went to a new provider. Smaller practices seem to be “flooded” with former UPMC patients, Nicole said. “Nobody hires new customers.”
When they saw the Lee doctor at UPMC in mid -July, the doctor confirmed that no more puberty blockers could be prescribed and refused to answer questions about finding care elsewhere. Nicole asked if it was safe to find testosterone from the state. “They were just like:” I can’t tell you anything, “Lee recalled.
Growing up, coming out, finding care
The uncertainty depends on what an exciting time should be for Lee. He recently graduated in high school a year earlier and, after about 20 miles east of Pittsburgh, it thinks it will be easier to make contact with more strange people as soon as he leaves plums to study at Carlow University. “The suburbs are fine”, but “there are more people who are open -minded in the city,” he said.
Lee worked to graduate from high school a year earlier, thinking that he may be able to follow top surgery faster – a procedure that changes the breast to adapt to the gender identity of a patient. Just a few months ago, Lee discussed the procedure with his UPMC doctor “and then this was all closed” because of the executive Order of Trump, he said.
Lee’s path to care was not flexible. He came out as a transgender at the age of 13 and was nervous about how Mama would react. To his surprise, Nicole was “overwhelming supporting” and has since been his “backbone for everything”, he said. But his pediatrician was negative and told a long story about a woman who once identified himself as a lesbian and later married a man – it was just a phase of his gender dysphoria. “Just stuck there and do nothing,” Nicole said, paraphrasing the doctor’s advice.
At the age of 15, Lee started receiving gender-confirming care from UPMC. The effect was immediately: less fear, less depression. “I don’t know what I would have done if I had to wait longer,” said Lee. He described the treatment as a ‘life -changing process’.
Nowadays Nicole is worried about more than finding a doctor. She fears that one day parents can have to deal with prosecution to help their children to access gender -confirming care in every state. “I have two little ones that I have to be here,” she said, referring to Lee’s younger sisters.
The Trump-Administration has intensified its position, with the PAM Bondi public-General-General-General to spends more than 20 doctors and clinics-inclusive UPMC-for data with regard to gender confirmation for minors. Bondi said that providers have them “Minkiled Children” will be continued under the False Claims Act.
Lee follows closely developments with regard to transgender rights. “I know there is a specific target on my head,” he said. Medical experts generally agree that gender -confirming care improves the results of mental health for transgender people. A 2018 Cornell University Review It turned out that 93 percent of the 55 studies surveyed reported improved well -being after transition. A 2022 Study in the Journal of the American Medical Association Found that young people who received such care had a decrease of 60 percent in depression and a decrease in suicidality of 73 percent.
Anyway, 27 States Prohibit care for minors now or in part. Federal pressure adds another layer. Lee is of the opinion that policy makers should concentrate on reducing the stigma around transgender, not limiting medical treatment. “Our society respects people like us,” he said. “They push us away and that’s why we get depressed.”
A new doctor and an uncertain future
Lee saw a glimmer of hope on July 26. Nicole provided an appointment with a private provider in Mt. Lebanon. The doctor assured them that Lee’s treatment was legal and said she could offer him as a client for him. “UPMC gave me the feeling that there were no other options,” said Lee. The new doctor “gave us the feeling that we cannot give up.”
Yet the fears remain. “I’m always going to be sharp with this administration,” said Lee. “I think this is just the start of those who try to get all the gender -confirming care.”
Lee and Nicole spoke about leaving Pittsburgh – or even the country – if necessary. Options include moving to Maryland or studying a semester abroad. For now, Lee will stay in place.
“I don’t want to uproot my life and live somewhere else,” he said, but admitted, “I have to consider it somewhat.”
Caleb Kaufman is a photojournalist for the public source of Pittsburgh. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Instagram on @caleb_kaufman_photography.
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