NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A lawsuit in federal court is now challenging a new Tennessee law that wouldn't allow for gender-affirming care for minors in the state.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed the bill that would ban gender-affirming surgeries for minors in the state. The ACLU filed Thursday on behalf on behalf of Samantha and Brian Williams of Nashville and their 15-year-old transgender daughter, two other plaintiff families filing anonymously, and Memphis-based medical doctor Dr. Susan Lacy.
State lawmakers entered the discourse of gender-affirming care and minors in September after a conservative blogger questioned whether Vanderbilt University Medical Center should provide gender-affirming care to patients. Matt Walsh — a Daily Wire conservative commentator, who questions the legitimacy of LGBTQ rights — said he considered the care to be that of castration and mutilation of minors and adults.
“It was incredibly painful watching my child struggle before we were able to get her the life-saving healthcare she needed. We have a confident, happy daughter now, who is free to be herself and she is thriving,” said plaintiff Samantha Williams. “I am so afraid of what this law will mean for her. We don’t want to leave Tennessee, but this legislation would force us to either routinely leave our state to get our daughter the medical care she desperately needs or to uproot our entire lives and leave Tennessee altogether. No family should have to make this kind of choice.”
The full suit filing isn't yet available.
According to Vanderbilt's Transgender Health Clinic, about five patients a year have received gender-affirming surgeries since 2018. All were over the age of 16 and each had their parent's permission. Puberty blockers and hormone therapy are more common and those treatments can be reversed.
