Gender-affirming care saves lives.

This week, the U.S. Supreme court upheld state bans on gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors.

A common fear fueling these bans is the idea that young people will later regret accessing gender-affirming care. But the evidence tells a different story.

Gender-affirming care is life-saving. 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

Not all gender-affirming care involves medical interventions such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgeries (1,2,3,4,5). Some patients may choose medical treatments and surgeries, while others may not. For those who do access gender-affirming medical care, studies show reductions in depression, anxiety, self-harm ideation, mental health disorders, and substance abuse for 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals (2,5-14). 

Regret over gender-affirming medical care is very low (less than 1%) – far lower than we see for other types of medical care (2,15,16,17,18,19).

Detransitioning individuals deserve support and care (20). But though some may regret their choice, this does not mean that others should be denied gender-affirming care. All other conditions are offered evidence-based medical options that may come with regret, which is a part of medical decision making.