Physicians Say Transgender Sports Bans Are a Health Issue

September 19, 2023

(STAT News) – Almost half of U.S. states have banned or restricted trans youths’ access to gender-affirming puberty blockers, hormones, and surgery — and many of the same states are also targeting trans youths’ participation in sports. Twenty-three states ban trans youths from participating in school sports consistent with their gender identity, with some laws focusing on students from kindergarten through 12th grade and others including, or exclusively applying to, students at the collegiate level.

The bans may have consequences for the health of trans youth, according to a new perspective by a group of pediatric sports medicine physicians and health services researchers published in JAMA Pediatrics. (Read More)