Families of transgender children are scrambling for solutions after some of them say they were notified that their child’s gender affirming care may be halted by Atrium Health.
Channel 9’s Hunter Sáenz started receiving messages from concerned parents last week, and he spoke with a family who says their child’s doctor warned them changes could soon be coming.
Amanda and Josh Dumas are the proud parents of two kids. Both teens were too shy for the cameras on Tuesday, especially when talking about a very personal thing.
“We had always been like, OK, whatever. He’s a tomboy,” Amanda said.
They’re talking about their 14-year-old transgender son. Channel Nine has agreed to not use his name to protect his privacy as a minor.
His parents say it all started when he was 5 years old.
“He had been asking for a buzz-cut for about a year, and really gravitating towards more masculine toys and clothes and borrowing from his brother,” Amanda said. “And really, after we got him the haircut, we went to a store pretty quickly afterwards. The store clerk called him, ‘he’ and said, ‘hey buddy’ or something. And when we left the store that day, he was wearing a pink t-shirt, and he was just so full of happiness and joy.”
Then, came a moment after dinner one night that changed everything.
“I was doing the dishes and he was the last one at the table. He said, ‘Mommy, do you like the name [edited for privacy]?’ And I said, ‘Sure,’” Amanda recalled. “And I he said, ‘Can that be my nickname?’ And I, we were both like, ‘okay!’ And I’m so glad we did, because he’s blossomed through his life.”
They say since 2020, he’s been receiving gender-affirming care by an Atrium Health doctor.
That’s well within North Carolina’s new law that bans gender affirming care to minors, except for those who started treatment before August of 2023. It means their son should be protected under the law and be able to continue gender-affirming care.
“You thought that your son was safe because of that carve-out, correct?” Sáenz asked.
“Correct,” Josh and Amanda said.
But last week, these parents say they got a call from their son’s doctor saying Atrium Health was considering the possibility of stopping gender-affirming care to anyone under 19.
“It was really shocking. I didn’t, I totally didn’t expect it. Our doctor has been our lifeline for the last eight years,” Amanda said.
Atrium Health would not confirm or deny if they were considering taking this action. But in a statement, a spokesperson told us: “While we do not typically respond to speculation or rumors, we want to share our continued commitment to providing care that is medically appropriate, legally compliant and rooted in compassion. As a nonprofit health system, we operate within a dynamic legal and regulatory landscape, and we remain focused on upholding the highest standards of care possible. If any changes to patient care become necessary, we are committed to communicating directly and transparently with those affected, ensuring that every step is guided by personalized support.”
It comes as hospitals across the country grapple with what to do since the Department of Justice has threatened to criminally investigate doctors who give gender-affirming care. There are also fears of federal funding cuts to hospital systems that offer it.
The Dumas family just worries about their son and so many other transgender youth whose healthcare could soon be in jeopardy.
“It’s been really hard. It’s been really hard and really, really scary, and we’ve said that over and over again these last few years, but the last week, our ground is shifting so quickly,” Amanda said.
They also know, statistically, transgender youth who are denied gender-affirming care have a higher chance of harming themselves.
“(Our) biggest fear is that these children will hurt themselves because they don’t feel at home in their body, because they don’t know who they are, because they don’t fit in,” Josh said.
Amanda and Josh told Sáenz they are now scrambling to find other doctors or health systems that will offer their son care. They have also started to form backup plans, like moving out of the country in order to maintain their son’s gender-affirming care.
They also fear what could happen if they just stop the care their son has been receiving for years.
According to the North Carolina Medical Board, physicians must give a 30-day written notice to patients before stopping their care, or they’d risk patient abandonment.
So far, the Dumas family has not received a letter giving that notice.
(VIDEO: GOP overrides governor’s vetoes of 2 bills concerning transgender rights in NC)
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