Queer students look for alternatives after Texas A&M ends transgender health care services

The students saw the move as part of a political environment that has become increasingly hostile against LGBTQ+ people in Texas.

By Dante Motley

Aug. 21, 20245 AM Central

For mental health support for LGBTQ youth, call the Trevor Project’s 24/7 toll-free support line at 866-488-7386. For trans peer support, call the Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860. You can also reach a trained crisis counselor through the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.

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Juniper Danielsen, a former Texas A&M student who received hormone replacement therapy through the university, recalled how easy the process was, especially after spending years on a waitlist for an endocrinologist in the Houston area, where she is from.

Danielsen and Matthia Klatt, a current student who also benefited from the service, said getting transition-related care on campus started with an information session in which a doctor explained potential risks, health changes and personal medical considerations. After understanding and agreeing to those terms, they took blood tests to confirm suitability for the treatment. Informed consent was crucial, Klatt and Danielsen said.

But getting gender transitioning care is no longer possible after the university suspended those services on Aug. 1.

In response to questions about why A&M discontinued the medical care, a university spokesperson said its growing student population and the resulting strain on the A.P. Beutel Health Center require officials to continuously review the services they offer and how they use the center’s resources. The spokesperson noted that the university has invested more in mental health care following a national rise in college students seeking it out.

Transgender and queer students are skeptical of that explanation and believe the university acted in response to pressure from conservative groups. They say the move shows the university is not willing to support them equally.

“It just seems that they don’t take the same level of care to address concerns of the queer community as they would other communities,” Klatt said.

Students saw the move as part of a political environment that has become increasingly hostile against LGBTQ+ people in Texas. And it comes as the state’s public universities face top-down pressure to appease Republican leaders — or risk incurring their wrath during next year’s legislative session.

For Danielsen and Klatt, no more access to transition-related care at the university means students will lose more than their prescriptions. It means no more access to medical professionals on campus and on call. It means no more easily available blood tests. It means discontinuing the physical and mental changes that hormone replacement therapy provides.

“Losing the care means that you have to look at yourself and see someone that you’re not anytime you look in a mirror,” Danielsen said. “It’s hard to go back to after having access to just being yourself.”

A novel service taken away

Hormone replacement therapy was a novel service for a university in 2012 when A&M started offering it.

Six other Texas public universities with health clinics confirmed to The Texas Tribune that they do not provide transition-related care; several others did not directly confirm or deny it. The University of Houston said it doesn’t offer such care but provides primary and psychiatric services and refers student patients to specialty services.

A&M informed students on July 1 that it would stop offering transition-related services, a month before the change went into effect. To Klatt, that was a short window of time for students — especially for those who might not be on campus during the summer — to find different health care options.

The care the university provided was cheap, even without insurance, Klatt said. Now, she has to quickly find care elsewhere. She is working with a virtual Planned Parenthood to get help. The Planned Parenthood in Bryan, one of the two cities that house the A&M system’s flagship, closed over a decade ago.

“It just hurts,” Klatt said. “I’m stressed out about finding a new provider. And it’s also just disappointing.”

In an email, Tiffany Skaggs, a senior director with A&M’s health services, said students who needed to transition to a different health care option for hormone replacement therapy can call her department for assistance in getting alternate care.

But Kenna Ashen with the Queer Empowerment Council, an LGBTQ+ student group at A&M, said finding alternatives is no easy task. Recent anti-trans legislation in the state has forced transition-related care providers to shut down or move elsewhere. The places trans students can go for care are now limited and overwhelmed, with waiting lists that stretch for months, Ashen said.

“Texas A&M is directly harming the mental and physical health of its student body,” the Queer Empowerment Council said in a statement condemning the university’s decision to discontinue the services. The group started a petition to reinstate A&M’s transition-related care that has collected about 675 signatures.

Sophia Ahmed, a doctoral student in Materials Science and Engineering and the president of the Queer Empowerment Council, questioned how the university made the decision to discontinue transition-related care at its health center, saying she has seen an increase in the number of students seeking it.

“The nutritional services, the physical therapy, not every student is in need of or want all of those,” Ahmed said. “But what if those were to get removed? It just happens that they choose this, which sucks.”

Outside pressures

Ashen, who is trans but is not receiving hormone replacement therapy, said A&M’s trans community feels targeted by the university’s recent actions and other state efforts.

Texas lawmakers proposed a series of bills aimed at LGBTQ+ people last year. While many failed, new restrictions on drag shows and transition-related care for minors passed.

Many proposals focused specifically on trans people, and health experts say the political attacks on them have had a negative impact on their mental health. This population is already vulnerable, with higher rates of suicide and self-harm, data shows.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has also zeroed in on queer issues. He sued the Biden administration earlier this summer over a federal rule that he argued would force states to fund and require health care providers to perform transition-related procedures under Medicaid. This month, a Texas federal judge ruled in Paxton’s favor in a different suit against the Biden administration. The attorney general argued against the administration’s efforts to extend anti-discrimination protections to LGBTQ+ students.

“The whole environment of the country right now is scary, sad and disappointing,” Klatt said.

Public universities have also been in lawmakers’ crosshairs in recent years.

After passing a 2021 law that requires K-12 transgender students to only participate on school sports teams that match the sex on their birth certificate, lawmakers approved similar legislation for colleges last year.

Another law required public universities to close their diversity, equity and inclusion offices and programs. The measure led A&M to quietly close its Pride Center late last year and replace it with the Student Life Office. The Queer Empowerment Council has taken on many of the Pride Center’s previous responsibilities, including hosting a graduation ceremony for queer students and supporting new students in their transition to college life.

Students said they worry about the influence of outside conservative media and alumni groups on university system leadership.

Before A&M ceased offering transition-related care, the conservative website Texas Scorecard published an article that called out the Queer Empowerment Council for a presentation on how to obtain hormone replacement therapy. Texas Scorecard is the media wing of Empower Texans, a hardline conservative group that holds sway with Texas politicians.

Last month, the university’s student newspaper published two emails alumni sent to the A&M System’s Board of Regents, chancellor and the university’s president speaking against transition-related health care. One was sent by Dr. Matt Poling, a private practice family medicine physician, assistant professor at Texas A&M Health Science Center and president of the Rudder Association — an alumni group that, along with Texas Scorecard, criticized journalism professor Kathleen McElroy preceding last year’s scandal over the university’s botched attempt to hire her. Poling’s letter casts transition-related care as “unproven medical interventions.”

Neuropsychologist Clifford Hopewell, another A&M alumnus and former president of the Texas Psychological Association, sent the other letter. He said hormone replacement therapy was “malpractice” and that the university was opening itself up to lawsuits by providing transition-related care.

Neither Hopewell nor Poling responded to requests for comment.

Hani Talebi, the current president of the Texas Psychological Association, said Hopewell’s statement is not endorsed by the association. Talbei said that the TPA aligns itself with the American Psychological Association, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychiatric Association, all of which endorse unobstructed access to transition-related care.

Hani pointed to a February statement by the American Psychological Association affirming its commitment to evidence-based, inclusive health care for trans individuals. The statement emphasized the importance of providing access to transition-related care, which is rooted in psychological and clinical science.

An A&M spokesperson said the Texas Scorecard article and alumni letters did not influence the university’s decision to end transition-related services.

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Correction, Aug. 21, 2024 at 12:40 p.m.: An earlier version of this story incorrectly spelled the names of Texas A&M student Sophia Ahmed and former student Juniper Danielsen.

This article was originally published by the Texas Tribune.