Clinicians treating trans minors weighed by death threats, legal risk and backlogs

The rise in transgender health care bans is putting providers in the crosshairs.

Dr. Kade Goepferd has received death threats for their work treating transgender youths at Children’s Minnesota Hospital, but Goepferd said the harassment isn’t the most worrying part of the job. 

“The waitlist is what keeps me up at night,” said Goepferd, who uses they/them pronouns. “It has grown every year, and it got particularly long after the bans went into effect.”

Goepferd is the medical director of the hospital’s Gender Health Program, the only multispeciality pediatric gender clinic in Minnesota. The program has experienced a 30% increase in calls since surrounding states outlawed gender-affirming care for minors, and the waitlist is now at least a year for new patients, even after Goepferd hired additional staff to help the hundreds of trans youths requesting appointments.

Dr. Kade Goepferd said the waitlist at their Minnesota clinic "has grown every year" and has gotten "particularly long after the bans went into effect.”Sarah Wilmer for NBC NewsTwenty-six states now have restrictions on transgender health care for minors, according to the LGBTQ think tank Movement Advancement Project. The laws have left those still able to provide this type of care, like Goepferd, struggling to keep up with demand.

NBC News spoke to a dozen clinicians in states where gender-affirming care for minors remains legal, from Connecticut to California, and found all are treating transgender youths fleeing bans. Not only does the surge in out-of-state and newly relocated patients create logistical challenges — from waitlists to insurance denials — it also presents a legal risk for health care professionals. Although some states have enacted protections for gender-affirming care providers, these shield laws remain untested in court, and they have done little to deter anti-trans attacks. Many doctors said they’ve had to take added security measures as transphobic rhetoric has intensified.

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/trans-minors-treatment-clinicians-laws-bans-rcna164515

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