Mixter Kit O'Connell<p>New at Austin Free Press: Life was already tough enough for <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/transgender" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>transgender</span></a> Texas kids. But a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling has made things a lot tougher.</p><p>Last month’s ruling by the high court upholding Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors reinforces a similar ban <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Texas" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Texas</span></a> enacted in 2023, delivering a pair of legal blows to Texas transgender children and their families.</p><p>“Our country is really headed in a direction away from caring about individuals, and it’s still so shocking,” an <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Austin" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Austin</span></a> mother of a 13-year-old transgender girl told Austin Free Press.</p><p>The Austin mom, who asked not to be named, added: “I feel like I grew up in a country that was really progressive and supportive of human rights, and we were so proud of everything we had overcome, and we’ve just taken a million giant steps backwards.”</p><p>In the wake of those legal decisions, hers and other families with transgender children say they face stark choices: Forgoing care that can improve their kiddos’ mental health, reduce <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/gender" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>gender</span></a> dysphoria and suicide rates — or relocate to a state with no ban on gender-affirming care for minors, an option that many families can’t afford.</p><p>Read more at Austin Free Press: <a href="https://austinfreepress.org/supreme-sadness/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">austinfreepress.org/supreme-sa</span><span class="invisible">dness/</span></a> </p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/news" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>news</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/trans" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>trans</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/LGBTQIA" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>LGBTQIA</span></a>+ <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SCOTUS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SCOTUS</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/transphobia" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>transphobia</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/healthcare" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>healthcare</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MentalHealth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>MentalHealth</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/children" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>children</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/teens" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>teens</span></a></p>