MS: Facing political pressure, UMMC cut care to trans kids before the Legislature banned doing so

The University of Mississippi Medical Center’s TEAM Clinic has long been one of the few medical spaces in Mississippi that aims to serve the LGBTQ community.

Its co-founder, Dr. Scott Rodgers, has described the “Trustworthy, Evidence-Based, Affirming, and Multidisciplinary” clinic’s mission in passionate terms: “The clinic, its presence and its openness, sends a powerful message that we are here for you.”

But last fall, UMMC leadership made a drastic decision. TEAM Clinic would no longer provide gender-affirming medical care — meaning puberty blockers and hormone therapy — to trans minors. The move in mid-October 2022 came months before lawmakers banned gender-affirming care for trans youth, and was implemented as quietly as possible. Parents received phone calls instead of letters and were supposed to be told only that “unforeseen clinical circumstances” necessitated the change.

The news swiftly spread through Mississippi’s small LGBTQ+ community, but the reasons for it haven’t been reported — until now.



https://mississippitoday.org/2023/04/26/facing-political-pressure-ummc-cut-care-to-trans-kids-before-the-legislature-banned-doing-so-emails-show/