As legislators across the country push to ban or limit gender-affirming care, many claim that people who medically transition as children regret it when they’re older. Researchers at Cornell University reviewed 52 studies of gender-affirming medical care over 25 years; 92% of the studies found that gender transition improved trans people's well-being. The other 8% had mixed or null findings, but none found harmful effects. Other research suggests that the majority of people who "detransition" do so due to social pressure or financial issues, not because they change their minds.

In the United States, about 1.4% of adolescents and 0.6% of adults identify as transgender. Transgender is an umbrella term that means a person’s gender identity is different from the one they were assigned at birth. This also includes nonbinary gender identities.

Gender-affirming medical care can mean receiving feminizing or masculinizing hormone therapy (HRT), receiving one or more surgeries to help someone’s body align with their gender identity, or taking puberty blockers as an adolescent to “pause puberty” and allow more time to decide next steps.

Youth who have not yet gone through puberty are not eligible for medical intervention. In some states, youth who begin puberty are eligible for puberty blockers, and youth who are post-puberty are eligible for HRT. States where puberty blockers and HRT are available require parental consent for youth under 18. Many other states have active or pending laws banning puberty blockers for people under 18.

Puberty blockers are not permanent—instead, they pause the effects of puberty. People who use puberty blockers in their youth can stop taking them, at which point the effects of puberty resume.

Some trans people who begin HRT or other medical interventions decide to stop; this is sometimes referred to as “detransition”. In one study, 10.8% of people who received gender-affirming medical care reported “detransitioning” due to an external factor like pressure from a caregiver or financial concerns. 2.1% reported “detransitioning” due to internal factors like a fluid gender identity or deciding it wasn’t the right step.

Gender-affirming medical care has been associated with improved mental and physical well-being of trans people. A 2018 analysis of 25 years of research on gender-affirming medical care showed that of 52 studies, 92% found gender transition improves the overall well-being of trans people, and the remaining 7% reported null or mixed findings. None of the articles reviewed found that gender-affirming care harmed well-being.

We are still learning the full effects of laws that ban gender-affirming care for minors affect youth in those states.