Gender-affirming healthcare is an important part of providing quality care to transgender and non-binary individuals. In Nashville, Tennessee, there are a number of organizations and clinics that offer gender-affirming healthcare services. Nashville CARES is a non-profit organization that is committed to improving the health of trans and non-binary communities. At The Nashville CARES Clinic at My House, they provide healthcare for LGBTQ+ people that addresses the unique barriers faced by trans and gender-nonconforming adult clients, as well as medical, behavioral health and case management staff who are sensitive to their needs.
Transgender Health at Connectus offers gender-affirming hormone replacement therapy, primary care, reproductive health and support while seeking gender confirmation surgery. VA Health Care for LGBTQ Veterans in Tennessee has three organizations: Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Mountain Home VA Healthcare System and Memphis VA Medical Center. These organizations provide gender-affirming healthcare services to veterans in the state. Unfortunately, Tennessee is the fourth state in this legislative session to ban gender-affirming care for people under 18, following prohibitions enacted in Utah, South Dakota and Mississippi.
This means that gender-affirming healthcare services are only available to people 18 years of age or older. Recently, a group of Republican state legislators from Tennessee sent a letter to the Transgender Pediatric Clinic at Vanderbilt University Medical Center demanding that gender-affirming surgeries stop. This was followed by Governor Bill Lee signing into law a law that prohibits all forms of gender-affirming care for transgender people under 18, putting the government in charge of making vital decisions that were traditionally reserved for parents in Tennessee.
