All Arizona parents should be concerned about this Supreme Court case about trans children

Hundreds of people gathered in Washington Square Park in New Orleans on March 31, 2023, for a march to mark Transgender Day of Visibility. Photo by Greg LaRose | Illuminator Louisiana

My favorite times of the week are driving my kid to high school. Along the way, I hear my son and his friends talk about mundane high school experiences—both happy and frustrating—and I’m so grateful to be a mom.

Unfortunately, an upcoming Supreme Court case could change the lives of every kid in my carpool — just because they’re happiest living outside of their birth gender role. Just because I’m transgender.

Once again, the court tries to stand between patients and doctors. But this time, they’re going after our kids, and all Arizona parents should be worried.

At the heart of the case the Supreme Court will review this month is Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth. It’s easy for me to see myself in the complainers Samantha and Brian Williams and their 16-year-old transgender daughter, who just want to keep the happy life they’ve built thanks to gender-affirming lifesaving care.

And if we don’t stop the court from joining Tennessee, the Williams family will be thrown back into harm’s way, along with my son and his friends and youth across America.

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Arizona is a tough place for trans kids like my son, Daniel. Not only does he have to deal with all the usual stressors from the age of 17, but politicians in our state have also tried to require schools to treat him differently than all his peers, forcing him to use the girl’s toilet or ask teachers to take him out as trans against his will. As a mother, it’s a horrible feeling to have so many people hate children like my son so much. And he puts our family inside danger.

All parents should be offended when our leaders question the existence of our children. They deserve to learn and thrive and, yes, grow and change — just like other high schoolers. But unlike other high schoolers, my kid’s bullies have catwalks and pickaxes. And now the demand to strip my son of health care – just because some people don’t believe his identity exists – is going all the way to the US Supreme Court.

Parents of trans children are sometimes seen as permissive, spineless parents. Other times, people think we are dangerously ideological, indoctrinating our children into thinking they are not who they are. The real truth is this: we cannot change who our son is and we simply will not let anyone else try.

A new study has found that teen suicide rates have increased in every state that has passed an anti-trans law. The Republican politicians targeting our children know this and they don’t care.

Daniel and trans kids like him showed us what it means to exist freely in a world that limits us. We let him lead as much as possible and brought in experts where we couldn’t solve his needs on our own. And through years of discussions with Daniel’s therapist and pediatrician, we were able to choose gender-affirming care.

There is nothing unclear about how I make choices about my son’s health and well-being. Daniel’s quality of life improved significantly as he was able to access the professional care he needed. And the fact that regret rates for gender-affirming care are much lower than for other major surgeries and life events proves that my family is not the only living proof that this attentive, quality care works.

Activism is a coping mechanism for me. If I didn’t speak up, I’d have to sit back and let horrendous and escalating rulings and/or legal decisions deal us blow after blow. If we don’t protect our children, we risk losing them. A new study even found that in every state that passed an anti-trans law, The teen suicide rate has increased.

The Republican politicians targeting our children know this and they don’t care.

In America, we like to talk about freedom. But the Supreme Court keeps pushing freedom further and further out of our arms. In the two years since then Roe v. Wade fell, I learned firsthand what it feels like to have no bodily autonomy, and it is devastating. I’m sure other parents will agree.

Decisions such as seeking sex-confirming care and abortion are health care decisions that should be made privately between families and their medical teams. I pray that other parents will understand what we are fighting for. The Supreme Court must stay out of our personal health care decisions – my son’s life and the lives of his friends depend on it.

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