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Bans on Best Practice Medical Care for Transgender Youth

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.

United States Map
Washington New York U.S. Virgin Islands Puerto Rico Guam Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands American Samoa New Hampshire Vermont Virginia Pennsylvania New York Maine West Virginia Ohio Kentucky Indiana Michigan Illinois Wisconsin North Carolina South Carolina Tennessee Georgia Florida Mississippi Missouri Arkansas Louisiana Iowa Minnesota Oklahoma Kansas Nebraska South Dakota North Dakota Texas 33 Colorado Wyoming Montana Idaho Arizona Utah Nevada Oregon California Hawaii Alaska Massachusetts Rhode Island Connecticut New Jersey Delaware Maryland Washington D.C. New Hampshire Vermont
  • State has "shield" law protecting access to transgender health care (see this map for more information) (14 states + D.C.)
  • State has "shield" executive order protecting access to transgender health care (see this map for more information) (2 states)
  • State neither bans nor has "shield" law for best practice medical care for transgender youth (8 states, 5 territories)
  • State bans best practice surgical care for transgender youth (2 states)
  • State bans best practice medication and surgical care for transgender youth, though ban may not be in effect (see note) (25 states)
  • State ban makes it a felony crime to provide certain forms of best practice medical care for transgender youth (6 states)
  • Court ruling is currently blocking enforcement of state's healthcare ban (2 states)

Citations & More Information

*Notes (and see the "Citations" tab or click "Citations & More Information" below the map legend for more information about every state): 
-Arizona banned surgical care for transgender minors in 2022, but in 2023 a new governor issued an executive order with "shield" style protections for transgender health care that is still legal in the state. Go to the transgender healthcare "shield" Equality Map to learn more about these laws.
-Multiple states have "grandfather" clauses, "weaning off" 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.

There are at least 17 lawsuits challenging different states' bans on best practice medical care for transgender youth. Click "Citations & More Information" beneath the map legend for more information about these lawsuits. 

Bans Permanently Blocked
The following laws are permanently blocked from being enforced, though appeals may be ongoing. Transgender youth should still be able to access care legally.
-Arkansas: In June 2023, a federal judge blocked the state's 2021 ban, ruling it unconstitutional. However, the state has said it will appeal the ruling, and the state also 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.  The 2023 permanent block builds on an earlier temporary block issued in July 2021.

Bans Temporarily Blocked (In Full or In Part)
The following laws are at least partially blocked from being enforced, though these court cases are still ongoing. Transgender youth should still be able to access care legally to the extent each of these blocks allow.
-Montana, fully blocked: In Sept 2023, a state district court temporarily blocked the state's ban on youth's care from being enforced while the lawsuit continues.


Recommended citation:
Movement Advancement Project. [Year of access]. "Equality Maps: Bans on Best Practice Medical Care for Transgender Youth." https://www.mapresearch.org/equality-maps/healthcare/youth_medical_care_bans. Accessed [day of access].

Percent of Transgender Youth Covered by Laws

*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.

37%

37 % of transgender youth (ages 13-17) live in states that ban best practice medication and surgical care for transgender youth

3%

3 % of transgender youth (ages 13-17) live in states that ban best practice surgical care for transgender youth

60%

60 % of transgender youth (ages 13-17) live in states that do not ban best practice medical care for transgender youth

Key
  • State does not have this lawBans best practice medical care for transgender youth
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 State does not have this law
Kentucky State does not have this law
Louisiana State does not have this law
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 State does not have this law
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina State does not have this law
North Dakota State does not have this law
Northern Mariana Islands
Ohio State does not have this law
Oklahoma State does not have this law
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Puerto Rico
Rhode Island
South Carolina State does not have this law
South Dakota State does not have this law
Tennessee State does not have this law
Texas State does not have this law
U.S. Virgin Islands
Utah State does not have this law
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia State does not have this law
Wisconsin
Wyoming State does not have this law


Data current as of 05/03/2025
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Sexual Orientation Policy Tally

The term “sexual orientation” is loosely defined as a person’s pattern of romantic or sexual attraction to people of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or more than one sex or gender. Laws that explicitly mention sexual orientation primarily protect or harm lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. That said, transgender people who are lesbian, gay or bisexual can be affected by laws that explicitly mention sexual orientation.

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“Gender identity” is a person’s deeply-felt inner sense of being male, female, or something else or in-between. “Gender expression” refers to a person’s characteristics and behaviors such as appearance, dress, mannerisms and speech patterns that can be described as masculine, feminine, or something else. Gender identity and expression are independent of sexual orientation, and transgender people may identify as heterosexual, lesbian, gay or bisexual. Laws that explicitly mention “gender identity” or “gender identity and expression” primarily protect or harm transgender people. These laws also can apply to people who are not transgender, but whose sense of gender or manner of dress does not adhere to gender stereotypes.

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