A mother, her preteen and why they drive across states for medical care
Amanda glanced in the rearview mirror to catch a glimpse of her 11-year-old son, Bean, sitting in the third row of her minivan.
His eyes were still puffy from crying as he watched a movie on his iPad with his leg stretched out on the bench seat.
Hold on buddy, Amanda thought to herself. We’re almost home.
Bean has never been good with shots but his fear was exacerbated by the four-hour car drive from the clinic in New York back home to Northeast Ohio. Since he was born female, it’s the only way he can access gender-affirming care as a minor.
That care has recently been threatened after President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to take action against hospitals that continue to provide care.
A federal judge blocked U.S. health agencies from enforcing Trump’s order on Feb. 13, issuing a temporary restraining order in response to a lawsuit by families of transgender teens and LGBTQ+ advocacy groups.
The few hospitals that had announced they were pausing certain gender-affirming services for minors after the executive order resumed care.
But families of transgender children still feel under attack. And the temporary block on the executive order doesn’t do anything to address state bans that restrict gender-affirming care for minors, like in Ohio.
Amanda, who requested that we only print her middle name to protect her child's medical privacy, travels with her son to western New York every six months to meet with doctors and get puberty blockers. Even though her child, who she refers to by the nickname Bean, identifies as male, he is not ready to decide whether he wants to go through female puberty or take hormones for male puberty.
“This kid is not ready to decide how he would feel about boobs and a period if it happens at the age it did for me, which was 11,” Amanda says. “My kid needs that pause to have that adult conversation with therapists.”
Amanda views it as preventive care to preserve Bean’s mental health.
Research has shown transgender and gender-nonconforming people are diagnosed with mental health conditions more frequently than young people who identify with the gender they are assigned at birth. A 2022 study found that gender-affirming medical interventions were associated with lower odds of depression and suicidality in adolescents and young adults.
Sarah Celotto, 49, from Gilford, Connecticut, says gender-affirming care saved her son’s life.
Her son, Cameron, was 12 when he began struggling with severe depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation. It quickly snowballed into eating disorders and self-harm.
Raised in a conservative family, Celotto says she grew up in a “very straight world.” She had no idea Cameron's pain might be stemming from gender dysphoria. But as he reached puberty, his mental health worsened.
“His whole body was changing – the menstrual cycle and everything – and it was just destroying him,” Celotto says.
After years of working with therapists and social workers, Cameron came out to his mother. They decided to begin his transition the following week.
Now at 17, Cameron has undergone gender-affirming surgery and is taking testosterone. His depression and anxiety went away, and he’s begun planning for his future after senior year.
“I don’t know what would have happened if that wasn’t available for him," Celotto says. "I would have buried my daughter.”
Although Cameron has always had access to the medical care that saved his life, Celotto says the anti-trans messaging coming from the White House and its executive orders is still disturbing.
“What was upsetting was seeing the words that were coming out of Trump’s mouth that I was reading in black and white saying my child doesn’t exist – shouldn’t exist,” Celotto says. “I have worked so hard as a parent to keep my child alive and here is an administration coming in and doing whatever they can to undo that.”
Adrianna Rodriguez can be reached at adrodriguez@usatoday.com.