Posted on Apr 6, 2023
What is gender-affirming health care? Missouri Republicans are dead set on limiting it
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The Missouri Senate has passed bills to bar children under the age of 18 from receiving puberty blockers or hormone treatments. But as the conservative campaign against gender-affirming care expands across the nation, often lost is an explanation of what it entails. Here are some basics.
Missouri Republicans in recent months have attacked health care options for transgender minors in the state, launching legislative, investigative and media campaigns to drastically curtail gender-affirming care in the St. Louis area.
Legislators in the Senate last month passed bills to bar children under the age of 18 from receiving puberty blockers or hormone treatments. House GOP leaders have said passing their own version of the legislation will be a priority in the waning weeks of the legislative session. Trans minors and their parents are bracing for those bills to become laws.
Missouri Republicans in recent months have attacked health care options for transgender minors in the state, launching legislative, investigative and media campaigns to drastically curtail gender-affirming care in the St. Louis area.
Legislators in the Senate last month passed bills to bar children under the age of 18 from receiving puberty blockers or hormone treatments. House GOP leaders have said passing their own version of the legislation will be a priority in the waning weeks of the legislative session. Trans minors and their parents are bracing for those bills to become laws.
What is gender-affirming health care? Missouri Republicans are dead set on limiting it
Posted from kcur.org
Transgender
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Health
Gender
Posted 1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."What does it take to get treatment as a minor?
St. Louis-area patients who received gender-affirming treatment as minors say they’re confused when they hear accusations that patients have been rushed through treatment:
“It took years to get some of the things I wanted. And so I was just kind of shocked when they were like, ‘it was very easy,’” Tony La Mantia said. “Even with everybody being supportive of my transition, it was an incredibly difficult process to get through.”
La Mantia said he went through years of therapy and even put a pause on medically transitioning to focus on treating other mental health issues before having hormone replacement therapy.
Because of a limited number of doctors who provide transgender care to minors, many patients wait months to get into the clinic
Joey Borrelli, who grew up in St. Louis, started taking hormones just before his 17th birthday, more than a year after he came out to his parents.
Not everyone can afford the costs and copays of multiple medical appointments, Borrelli said, which puts up another barrier to obtaining treatment quickly. He’s seen people on GoFundMe and other fundraising sites asking for money to finance health care.
“Do our politicians really think that people are going and getting medical care for fun all willy-nilly?” Borrelli said. “Months and months of therapy? Are you serious?”
Borrelli also had to wait months to get his treatment approved by doctors, therapists and insurance companies. Borrelli said he had to acknowledge the risks of every procedure before receiving treatment."
..."What does it take to get treatment as a minor?
St. Louis-area patients who received gender-affirming treatment as minors say they’re confused when they hear accusations that patients have been rushed through treatment:
“It took years to get some of the things I wanted. And so I was just kind of shocked when they were like, ‘it was very easy,’” Tony La Mantia said. “Even with everybody being supportive of my transition, it was an incredibly difficult process to get through.”
La Mantia said he went through years of therapy and even put a pause on medically transitioning to focus on treating other mental health issues before having hormone replacement therapy.
Because of a limited number of doctors who provide transgender care to minors, many patients wait months to get into the clinic
Joey Borrelli, who grew up in St. Louis, started taking hormones just before his 17th birthday, more than a year after he came out to his parents.
Not everyone can afford the costs and copays of multiple medical appointments, Borrelli said, which puts up another barrier to obtaining treatment quickly. He’s seen people on GoFundMe and other fundraising sites asking for money to finance health care.
“Do our politicians really think that people are going and getting medical care for fun all willy-nilly?” Borrelli said. “Months and months of therapy? Are you serious?”
Borrelli also had to wait months to get his treatment approved by doctors, therapists and insurance companies. Borrelli said he had to acknowledge the risks of every procedure before receiving treatment."
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