​How gender-affirming care may be impacted when clinics that offer abortions close

Edited & Broadcast By Araba, Olawale Enifenilanfe

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When someone set ablaze the only Planned Parenthood health clinic in Knoxville, Tenn., earlier this year, the center was immediately inundated with patients' questions about what will happen to their care – but it wasn't just about abortion services.

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"We were flooded with calls more from our gender-affirming hormone patients than from any other type of patient because we are a continuing source of care for gender-affirming patients," Ashley Coffield, the chief executive officer of the Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi, told NPR.

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"It was very upsetting and scary to them when we were suddenly gone."

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A fire that destroyed a Planned Parenthood building was intentionally set

When reproductive health clinics close, it's not just access to abortions that is lost, but also an array of services — like birth control, sex education, and gender-affirming treatments — that can disappear.

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And some of those services, like hormone replacement therapy, require patients to see their physician more regularly than typical patients visiting for abortion or birth control services, Coffield explains.

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That's why she and other providers are particularly worried about how future clinic closures may impact transgender and nonbinary patients, who already face many barriers to health care. The threat of losing access also comes as some states ramp up legal efforts to restrict such care, particularly for transgender youth.

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A third of trans youth are at risk of losing gender-affirming care, a study says

Gender-affirming care includes medical, social, and psychological support to help a person understand and appreciate their gender identity. That care could be helpful to anyone but is especially life-saving for transgender and nonbinary people.

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Dr. Bhavik Kumar, the medical director of primary and trans care at Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, told NPR the community faces a crisis.

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"With trans care, this is not a drill," he said. "As much as people are concerned about abortion care and access to abortion – which is very important – we should also be concerned about trans people and preserving their humanity and dignity."

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