As reported by The Williams Institute (in “How Many Adults and Youth Identify as Transgender in the United States?”), there are more than 300,000 high school-aged (ages 13-17) transgender youth in the United States today, many who need gender affirming care.

Many trans youth are now living in states in which transgender youth have lost access to, or are at risk of losing access to, gender affirming care, because of discriminatory laws and policies (more information on methodology below).

As of November 2023, three in ten (35.1% or 105,200 total) trans youth aged 13-17 are living in states that have passed bans on gender affirming care.

At the height of the legislative session, more than half (50.4%) of all trans youth were living in a state where a gender affirming care ban had been introduced.

While our map focuses solely on high school aged youth (age 13-17), some states, such as Oklahoma, Texas, and South Carolina, have considered banning care for transgender people up to 26 years of age. The William’s Institute’s annual reporting provides additional detail about the number of trans adults and youth people impacted of these types of laws and policies, accounting for the full range of people potentially impacted.

Gender-affirming care is age-appropriate care that is medically necessary for the wellbeing of many transgender and non-binary people who experience symptoms of gender dysphoria, or distress that results from having one’s gender identity not match their sex assigned at birth.

By preventing doctors from providing this care, or threatening to take children away from parents who support their child in their transition, these bills prevent transgender youth from accessing medically necessary, safe health care backed by decades of research and supported by every major medical association representing over 1.3 million US doctors.

These bills have real world impact.

Nearly 1 in 5 of any type of hate crime is now motivated by anti-LGBTQ+ bias.

Over 310 transgender and gender non-conforming people have lost their lives to fatal violence in the past decade, a third of whom were killed in the last three years; Texas and Florida, two of the states leading the current wave of anti-transgender legislation, collectively were home to almost 20% of all victims.

Reports of violence and intimidation against LGBTQ+ people, such as the Club Q shooting that cost the lives of five people, have been making news across the country – with white nationalists targeting a Pride event in Idaho and Proud Boys crashing Drag Queen story hours at local libraries to shout homophobic and transphobic slurs.

Anti-LGBTQ+ stigma also drives alarmingly high rates of depression, anxiety and suicide. One survey from The Trevor Project found that almost nine in ten transgender and non-binary youth experienced worsening mental health as a result of the wave of anti-transgender legislation, and almost half had been cyberbullied as a result of discussions of these bills.

We must stop these harmful bills, laws and policies before we lose more lives.