King Charles Visits Kenya

Where Can You Find Real “Access” To Trans Healthcare?

By Callie and Lindon

As I’m sure many know, access to transgender healthcare is a lasting struggle in the U.S. today. In many places across the country, adults and youth of transgender identities don’t have access to healthcare. However, in places like New Mexico, there are laws restricting the ban of Transgender healthcare… But are they offering real access? 

Numerous trans people made the move to Albuquerque, New Mexico, hoping for easier access to the medical attention they deserve. Things went well for a trans woman, Sophia Machado, who could move close to her sister and quickly find a provider who respected her. Others were less lucky.

Some people were told that there was a waitlist for healthcare providers. Anne Winthrow, 73 years old, spent 2 years just hearing about this waitlist, not getting a full explanation as to what she had to do to get on said waitlist. When she finally got a call back, they referred her back to another clinic, rather than the one she’d been waiting for. 

In recent years, states have made an effort to ban gender-affirming healthcare, for trans adults and youth alike. Still, large cities like Chicago, San Fransico, and Washington have good LGBTQ+ health sources. There’s still one problem, though. It’s very costly to live in a large city like that. This is why many trans people are not getting the healthcare they need. In places that are cost-effective to live, there is not good trans health care, or it is banned altogether.

Though things aren’t perfect, there is a bright side. States like New Mexico have banned the restriction of healthcare- In other words, they’ve made a step to making healthcare more accessible for trans people. However, are these resources really… accessible?

Many people have relocated to places like New Mexico, that are promising easy healthcare, but many ended up disappointed as they were put on waitlists that seem to never end.

In the end, the battle for trans rights to be recognized can and will go on for longer than we’d all like. Everyone deserves healthcare, and it’s honestly criminal to restrict that from people (especially youth) just because of how they identify.