Twenty-seven states have enacted laws over the past five years restricting puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries for the purpose of gender transition in minors. A nationwide network now helps families keep pursuing those interventions for children despite those state restrictions.
The Campaign for Southern Equality, a North Carolina-based LGBT advocacy nonprofit, launched the Trans Youth Emergency Project in 2023. The project now operates in all 27 states with restrictions, works with more than 130 local and regional partners, and has distributed more than $1 million in travel grants to more than 1,200 families.
An undercover investigation found that some recommended providers described ways for minors to continue receiving drugs in their home states. Some discussed using diagnoses other than gender dysphoria to help obtain prescriptions or insurance coverage. Others discussed sending prescriptions to pharmacies in states with bans, mailing medications to patients’ homes, or conducting virtual appointments with patients in states where gender-transition drugs are restricted for minors.
In one call, an investigator posed as the mother of an 11-year-old in Nashville, Tennessee, where the interventions have been prohibited since 2023. A care navigator named Amanda said the child’s recent nonbinary identification would “absolutely not” prevent puberty blockers and described CSE’s provider screening process. She also said families could request a $500 travel grant up to four times a year.
In another call, a person posing as an Idaho parent of a 16-year-old seeking testosterone and a double mastectomy was referred to clinics in Oregon and California. A care navigator also described a partnership with Elevated Access, a nonprofit that arranges flights for people seeking abortions or gender-transition procedures.
While state legislatures enacted these laws to safeguard children from life-altering procedures based on lies they cannot consent to, these coordinated evasion networks actively undermine state sovereignty, statutory protections, and parental accountability nationwide.
