During her junior year in Utah, mandolin-playing math guru Elle Palmer said aloud what she had been feeling, that she was going to transfer schools the next year, and that her new classmates wanted her to see her as a girl. I told my friend that I hope .
In several northeastern states, Asher Wilcox-Broekemeier listened to punk rock in his room. He longed to join the neighborhood shirtless boys playing in the South Dakota sun. He didn’t know he was one of them until he started menstruating and the disconnect from his body grew.
Both children’s recognition began a family of years on the road of doctors, therapists, and other professionals in transgender medicine.
Now in their teens, their journey hits a roadblock.
Republican lawmakers across the country have banned gender-affirming care for minors. It is scheduled to be implemented.
Opponents of gender-affirming care have expressed concern about the long-term effects of treatments on adolescents, arguing that research is limited and irreversible, especially genital surgery and mastectomy. It focuses on actions.
But they are rare. Doctors usually direct children to therapy and voice coaching long before any medical intervention. At that point, pubertal blockers, antiandrogens that block the effects of testosterone, and hormone treatments are much more common than surgery. It is the standard treatment that is endorsed by medical associations.
With new laws, parents are scrambling to ensure their children get the care they need. They worry about what will happen if they can’t get their prescribed medicine.
“My body is basically a ticking time bomb, just waiting to explode,” said Asher Wilcox-Broekemeier, now 13.
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Erw remembers the first day he went to school after transferring. Before her departure, she came downstairs wearing her cowboy boots embroidered with iridescent glitter. Her Elle’s taunts from her former school kids drove Elle into depression and contemplation of her suicide.
But on that first day, a boy told Elle that he loved his boots. Some of the children bullied her, but her classmates and teachers were much more supportive than at her previous school. She began seeing a therapist because her uncertainty about how she fit on the gender spectrum became more pressing.
Elle came out as a transgender girl in fifth grade. When she turned 7, she was planning to start hormone therapy this summer. This helped ensure that potential side effects did not affect her grade life, especially her team’s extracurricular math competition.
But then Utah’s Republican Governor Spencer Cox signed a ban on gender-affirming care in January. As a compromise, the law allowed children to continue taking their medications if they were already taking them. So Elle’s mother, like her other parents, rushed to get treatment months earlier than she had planned.
A Utah clinic’s waiting list has ballooned to six months. Doctors were faced with a difficult decision about who to book.
Just before the Utah law went into effect, Elle’s medicine arrived in the mail. A small rod implanted in Elle’s forearm is a slowly-released hormone-blocking drug that prevents the effects of male puberty from taking hold. Eventually she may be prescribed estrogen, and she and her parents will have to navigate the next steps and whether they will find a doctor to continue her care.
They have reprieve, at least for now.
“We can breathe again,” Cat Palmer said.
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There is no relief in Asher Wilcox-Broekemeier’s family – not yet.
When Asher started menstruating, she felt a dreadful disconnect between the changes on the outside of her body and the sensations on the inside.
Elizabeth started researching online to figure out what was going on with her son, and Asher’s father, Brian, sought the expertise of a doctor. and doctors to explore his history, personality and emotions throughout his life.
Nearly two years ago, doctors prescribed puberty blockers and birth control pills to slow breast development, regulate menstruation, and reduce the pressure of disconnection from the body.
Now 13, he finds solace in music to step into a world of occasional bullying and constant mispronouns. He practices his Blink-182’s “All the Small Things” on guitar, plays trumpet in his band at School, and rehearsals for Cinderella’s various singing for the School musical. When he’s not contemplating testosterone to lower his voice or finally having top surgery, he’s looking forward to playing in his high school marching band next year.
Usher still struggles with gender dysphoria. His once-strong friendship fell apart after Usher came out as transgender, and his parents wouldn’t invite him out of their home for fear he would be a “bad influence.” bottom.
However, his parents found that his treatment stabilized his emotions.
“From a parent’s perspective, I think he can be his authentic self, which is great for him,” Elizabeth said.
Now he and his parents are afraid they will have to start over.
In February, South Dakota Republican Gov. Christy Noem signed a law banning drugs and procedures that doctors increasingly prescribe to transgender teens.
Usher’s current doctor in South Dakota is unable to prescribe his medication, so the family is looking for a new doctor in neighboring Minnesota. I’m hoping to find a clinic close enough that I don’t have to pay for it.
Planning took time. Questions about logistics to current South Dakota doctors for referrals have not been answered. However, we would like to preserve Asher’s normalcy as much as possible.
The sudden twist in Asher’s trajectory has made Asher question why his health care is of interest to politicians.
“Trans people aren’t a big percentage of the population, but that doesn’t mean we’re not part of it yet,” Usher said.
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The full consequences of banning the care of minors are not yet clear.
Nikki Mihalopoulos, M.D., an adolescent internist who treats transgender teens at a specialty clinic in Salt Lake City, said the new law has made families afraid to ask for help, making it difficult for doctors to provide care. I am afraid that I will lose my license.
In the middle are children like Elle and Usher.
Studies have shown that transgender youth are more likely to have suicidal thoughts or attempts and have a lower risk of depression and suicidal behavior when they have access to gender-affirming care.
Both parents are trying to protect their children from the stress and anxiety caused by recent changes in legislation.
After years of worrying about my children’s safety and mental health, I still fear what will happen if my children can’t find their prescribed medication.
“My kids are okay is my number one priority. I know the suicide rate. I don’t want my kids to be statistic,” Kat Palmer said of Elle.
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This story corrects the identity of the person in one photo to Elle Palmer.
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Billaben reported from Pierre, South Dakota.