In Seattle, just two surgeons perform the full range of gender-affirming surgeries for teenagers and young adults, both at the same hospital. One provider often sees more than 20 patients and performs up to 12 surgeries a week. The pace hasn’t slowed in years.
In Washington and the Pacific Northwest, some providers who specialize in gender health say access to gender-affirming health care services has struggled to keep up with growing demand. As debates over rights to this type of care gain increasing attention on the national stage, medical experts, mental health professionals and LGBTQ+ advocates wonder what the safest path toward better care looks like.
With support from the Center for Health Journalism 2023 National Fellowship, our reporting will center the wide scope of experiences of trans and gender-diverse youth who have begun to explore gender-affirming health care in the Pacific Northwest. We’ll look at the challenges, joys, fears and support systems that are often part of the process.
Although we live in a place that continues to protect the right to gender-affirming care, the debate over the future of LGBTQ+ and general reproductive health care is active in Washington. The state has not been unaffected by changing laws in some neighboring states, including in Idaho, where the governor in April signed a bill criminalizing gender-affirming medical care for trans youth.
