Over the past few years, transgender people have been under unprecedented levels of scrutiny for our bodies and lifestyles. In 2024 alone, 50 bills were passed in various states restricting healthcare, education, ability to play in sports, and of course, bathroom usage. With President Trump’s inauguration, this worrying trend has only continued.
On January 28th, the president enacted an order targeting gender affirming care for transgender individuals under the age of 19. These restrictions have already had devastating impacts on our community. On January 30th, Children’s National Hospital halted all gender affirming care, including any ongoing prescription refills for all patients. As one of the largest gender affirming healthcare providers in DC, this has left countless families scrambling to find new options for their loved ones to continue life-saving care.
This closure has already had its impacts on many members of our community here at Jackson-Reed. While balancing home and school lives, trans students now have to work overtime finding new avenues to get their healthcare. One student who wished to stay anonymous said they were never notified when Children’s shut down, until they went to refill their prescription. Once they learned about this, they started to frantically search for a new clinic. Another student said they have been struggling to find an alternative location for Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) before they run out of their current supply and worry they may have to resort to unsafe alternatives. Neither student was surprised that Children’s had shut down, as they have been targeted by conservatives in the past, but both were shocked at how quickly they folded to this executive order. Many people assume HRT only changes physical characteristics of the body, but it also is proven to improve mental health and it lessens hormonal imbalances in the brain. Both students stressed how beneficial the gender affirming care they have had access to has been in their lives, citing how their moods have greatly improved since starting hormones.
On February 13, a federal judge in Maryland blocked Trump’s executive order on gender affirming care. At this point, Children’s National is still able to refill prescriptions, but is no longer a reliable source of gender affirming care due to how vulnerable DC legislation is right now. With Home Rule being in jeopardy with the new BOWSER Act, transgender individuals in the district will only continue to be targeted by anti-trans legislation. It is so common to see these awful laws in the news, but no one expects to see it in their own community. Transgender students at Jackson-Reed need support and safety now more than ever. Politicians who are strangers to our city are meddling in communities they refuse to understand. I’m urging students at Jackson-Reed to listen to trans voices and speak up against hatred that permeates within our community. Trans people are a cornerstone of our community, we cannot let them fade away.
