They're losing health care, even in the Bay Area. Now trans youth and their families are getting organized

"Last August, an Oakland high school student named Eric began gender-affirming care, at Kaiser Permanente. He'd never thought about needing it before he hit puberty. But once that happened, he said it quickly felt necessary, even urgent, to make sure my body was going on the same track as my brain. Eric, 15, who asked to go by his middle name in this story, said the medical providers he worked with at Kaiser were very supportive."

"Honestly, it was really easy, she said. They have a terrific gender clinic. We went at a pace that was comfortable for us. They neither blocked us nor stalled us. She said having access to compassionate care is part of why her family lives in the Bay Area. That is why we were in such shock that just a few months after the inauguration Kaiser, of all places, was rolling back care, she said."

An Oakland teenager began gender-affirming care at Kaiser Permanente and described the treatment as necessary and urgently aligned with his identity. Medical providers and a social worker supported his transition and helped his parents feel comfortable starting hormone replacement therapy. His mother said the gender clinic was accessible, compassionate, and a reason the family lives in the Bay Area. A subsequent Kaiser pause on gender-affirming surgical care for patients under 19 created shock and uncertainty about future procedures, including chest surgery and hormone implants, and raised concerns about disrupted access to essential, stabilizing medical care for transgender youth.

Read at www.berkeleyside.org