Bans on best-practice medical care represent one of the most extreme and coordinated political attacks on transgender people in recent years. These bills target transgender youth by blocking their access to best-practice medical care, care that is backed by years of rigorous research and endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, and other leading health authorities. These bills not only display a fundamental lack of understanding of transgender children, but they also ban access to medical care often by criminalizing either the doctors or even the parents of transgender youth seeking to provide best-practice medicine for children in their care.
For more on these efforts, including how these attacks have become more extreme over time,
read MAP's 2023 spotlight report.
*Notes (and see the "Citations" tab or click "Citations & More Information" below the map legend for more information about every state):
-Yellow caution icons refer to other efforts attempting to limit or ban health care for transgender youth, such as non-legislative actions. This does not refer to bills introduced: as of April 1, 2023, nearly 4 out of 5 states have introduced these bills. See the "Citations" tab or click "Citations & More Information" below the map legend for more information about every state. (These each link to the same document.)
-Several states have "grandfather" clauses or limited exceptions for some transgender youth and/or for some types of medication. Click "Citations" to read more detail about each bill or to access the law's language directly.
Bans Temporarily Blocked (In Full or In Part)
The following laws are at least partially blocked from being enforced. This map will be updated as these cases progress. Transgender youth/people should still be able to access care to the extent each of these blocks allow.
-Alabama: In May 2022, a federal judge temporarily blocked the part of the state's law that bans medication for transgender youth, though the rest of the law remains in effect for now, including the felony punishment and provisions that require school staff to tell parents if a child expresses thoughts that they might be transgender. The state's law applies to individuals up to the age of 19.
-Arkansas: In July 2021, a federal judge temporarily blocked Arkansas's 2021 ban from going into effect. However, the state passed a new law in 2023 (effective 90 days after the legislature adjourns) that will allow individuals who receive gender-affirming care as minors (or the family members of those minors) to sue their medical providers for malpractice, among other provisions.
-Oklahoma: On May 18, 2023, the state's attorney general signed a binding agreement to not enforce the state's ban, pending further legal challenges.
-Missouri: On April 13, 2023, the state's attorney general issued an emergency rule intended to go into effect on April 27, 2023, with a planned expiration date of February 6, 2024. A lawsuit, Southampton Community Healthcare et al. v. Bailey, earned a temporary restraining order to block the rule until at least July 24, 2023, with the potential for a further block of the rule at that time. If the rule had gone into effect, it would have effectively banned, or at a minimum, extraordinarily restricted, medically necessary care for all transgender people, regardless of age. On May 16, 2023, the state's attorney general filed to withdraw/terminate the rule. At the same time, the legislature has passed a bill that awaits the governor's signature, and he has indicated that he will sign it.
Bans Not Yet In Effect
The following laws are not yet in effect, and youth should still be able to access care until the laws go into effect.
-Idaho: HB71 (2023) does not go into effect until January 1, 2024.
-Indiana: SB480 (2023) does not go into effect until July 1, 2023.
-Georgia: SB140 (2023) does not go into effect until July 1, 2023. The law also contains some exceptions for youth who begin hormone-related medication before July 1, 2023, to continue receiving that treatment. See the ACLU of Georgia for more.
-Kentucky: According to the ACLU of Kentucky, the medical care ban portion of SB150 (2023) "will not go into effect until late June 2023 - 90 days after the legislature adjourns. Trans youth can still receive care until that portion of the bill takes effect."
-Montana: SB99 (2023) does not go into effect until October 1, 2023.
-Nebraska: LB574 (2023), which applies to those under age 19, does not go into effect until October 1, 2023. The law also contains some exceptions for those who begin hormone-related medication before October 1, 2023, to continue receiving that treatment.
-South Dakota: HB1080 (2023) does not go into effect until July 1, 2023.
-Tennessee: HB1 (2023) does not go into effect until July 1, 2023.
-West Virginia: HB2007 (2023) does not go into effect until January 1, 2024. The law also contains some exceptions for hormone-related medication for youth under certain circumstances and requirements. Click "Citations" or go to the bill text directly to learn more.
Recommended citation:
Movement Advancement Project. "Equality Maps: Bans on Best Practice Medical Care for Transgender Youth."
https://www.mapresearch.org/equality-maps/healthcare/youth_medical_care_bans. Accessed 05/30/2023.
*Note: These percentages reflect estimates of the transgender youth (ages 13-17) population living in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Estimates of transgender youth in the U.S. territories or under age 13 are not available, and so cannot be reflected here. Population estimates are from The Williams Institute.
19 % of transgender youth (ages 13-17) live in states that ban best practice medication and surgical care for transgender youth
2 % of transgender youth (ages 13-17) live in states that ban best practice surgical care for transgender youth
79 % of transgender youth (ages 13-17) live in states that do not ban best practice medical care for transgender youth
10 % of transgender youth (ages 13-17) live in states that have taken steps to ban or restrict best practice medical care for transgender youth, but state law does not ban this care (see note beneath map)
| State | Bans on Medical Care for Transgender Youth |
| Citations | |
| Alabama | State does not have this law |
| Alaska | |
| American Samoa | |
| Arizona | State does not have this law |
| Arkansas | State does not have this law |
| California | |
| Colorado | |
| Connecticut | |
| Delaware | |
| District of Columbia | |
| Florida | State does not have this law |
| Georgia | State does not have this law |
| Guam | |
| Hawaii | |
| Idaho | State does not have this law |
| Illinois | |
| Indiana | State does not have this law |
| Iowa | State does not have this law |
| Kansas | |
| Kentucky | State does not have this law |
| Louisiana | |
| Maine | |
| Maryland | |
| Massachusetts | |
| Michigan | |
| Minnesota | |
| Mississippi | State does not have this law |
| Missouri | State does not have this law |
| Montana | State does not have this law |
| Nebraska | State does not have this law |
| Nevada | |
| New Hampshire | |
| New Jersey | |
| New Mexico | |
| New York | |
| North Carolina | |
| North Dakota | State does not have this law |
| Northern Mariana Islands | |
| Ohio | |
| Oklahoma | State does not have this law |
| Oregon | |
| Pennsylvania | |
| Puerto Rico | |
| Rhode Island | |
| South Carolina | |
| South Dakota | State does not have this law |
| Tennessee | State does not have this law |
| Texas | |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | |
| Utah | State does not have this law |
| Vermont | |
| Virginia | |
| Washington | |
| West Virginia | State does not have this law |
| Wisconsin | |
| Wyoming |
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