{"id":35641,"date":"2023-03-22T18:16:13","date_gmt":"2023-03-22T23:16:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=35641"},"modified":"2023-03-23T13:09:57","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T18:09:57","slug":"a-proposed-ban-on-gender-affirming-care-for-minors-would-affect-oklahoma-adults-too","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2023\/03\/22\/a-proposed-ban-on-gender-affirming-care-for-minors-would-affect-oklahoma-adults-too\/","title":{"rendered":"A proposed ban on gender-affirming care for minors would affect Oklahoma adults too"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"width: 100%; height: 200px; margin-bottom: 20px; border-radius: 6px; overflow: hidden;\"><iframe style=\"width: 100%; height: 200px;\" src=\"https:\/\/player.captivate.fm\/episode\/a1cb2f1a-be83-4d29-b7c4-e46b5ff4346b\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.oklegislature.gov\/BillInfo.aspx?Bill=HB2177&Session=2300\">House Bill 2177<\/a> is making its way through the statehouse. It purports to ban gender-affirming care for children and teens in Oklahoma. Supporters say children and teens aren\u2019t equipped to make life-altering health decisions for themselves.<\/p><p>But critics take issue with the idea that gender dysphoria is something a person simply grows out of, as well as parts of the bill that get less attention.<\/p><p>\u201cThere, I think, are just an increasing number of trans people worried about, even though they are not minors, could they still afford care here?\u201d said Nicole McAfee, the executive director of 2SLGBTQ+ advocacy organization Freedom Oklahoma. Could they afford to move, if not.&#8221;<\/p><p>One provision says no health facility receiving state funds can administer gender-affirming care to anyone of any age. Another provision would ban insurance companies from covering gender-affirming care, again, for all Oklahomans, no matter how old they are.<\/p><p>\u201cWould that mean that facilities that \u2026 did blood work for people who needed hormone levels checked relative to hormones that they are prescribed?\u201d they said. \u201cLike, would that be something that would no longer be covered?\u201d<\/p><p>Without insurance, gender affirmation surgeries can run anywhere from $20,000 to more than $100,000. But long before someone considers surgery, it\u2019s common to undergo significantly less invasive care \u2014 medications like hormones or hormone blockers.<\/p><p>StateImpact talked with trans Oklahomans about the risks people could face if the bills pass and these new barriers to access make care too difficult to find. We aren\u2019t using their names because of discrimination concerns.<\/p><p>One of the people we talked with raised concerns about sourcing medications.<\/p><p>\u201cA lot of trans people, if they don\u2019t have access to doctors and things like that, will get meds through online sources that are not as reputable,\u201d she said.<\/p><p>When a patient starts hormones, the medical provider conducts blood tests to see where their current levels are and tests them multiple times over the first six months.<\/p><p>\u201cAnd without insurance, that is very costly,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen I was doing that, it ended up being like $200 per appointment.\u201d<\/p><p>And even with well sourced medication, taking it without medical supervision can be harmful. Some medications can have side effects that are life-threatening. One testosterone blocker can cause patients to retain too much potassium. Having a potassium level spike can cause heart palpitations, vomiting, chest pain and death.<\/p><p>\u201cI actually had that happen to me, and I can\u2019t take that medication for that reason,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t have known that if I couldn\u2019t get blood tests.\u201d<\/p><p>Another Oklahoman we talked with said she moved to Oklahoma years ago for work, noting that the Legislature often talks about attracting workers.<\/p><p>\u201cThey did attract me here,\u201d she said. \u201cI actually love this city; I\u2019m in Oklahoma City.\u201d<\/p><p>But with bills like this one, a Senate Bill criminalizing gender-affirming care for minors, and others that aim to winnow down 2SLGBTQ+ rights, she and her spouse found jobs out of state.<\/p><p>\u201cThe underlying content of these bills, I think, is just, \u2018They don\u2019t want me here,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201c\u2018They don\u2019t want people like me here.\u2019 I guess it\u2019s working. Because I\u2019m leaving. And I hate that.\u201d<\/p><p>Each of the bills mentioned in this story made it out of their chamber of origin \u2014 so the House and Senate \u2014 and will start the committee process in the opposite chamber in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>House Bill 2177 is making its way through the statehouse. It purports to ban gender-affirming care for children and teens in Oklahoma. Supporters say children and teens aren\u2019t equipped to make life-altering health decisions for themselves.But critics take issue with the idea that gender dysphoria is something a person simply grows out of, as well [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":213,"featured_media":35642,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35641"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/213"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35641"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35641\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35646,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35641\/revisions\/35646"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}