In the shadow of a federal government moving to erase their existence from official recognition, a quiet but desperate struggle is unfolding across New Jersey.
Families are reporting that hospital systems are suddenly pausing or winding down gender-affirming healthcare, leaving patients in a devastating limbo.
This is the immediate human cost of an administrative war being waged from Washington—a conflict that seeks to define a diverse population out of existence with the stroke of a pen.
The numbers are staggering, and they tell the story of a generation increasingly living its truth.
Nationally, more than 2.8 million people aged 13 and older identify as transgender, including approximately 724,000 youth.
These are not abstract figures; they are our neighbors, our classmates, and our friends.
They are the 3.3 percent of American high school students who now face a government that has declared their identities invalid.
The administration’s executive order, establishing a federal policy to recognize only two sexes as defined at conception, is not merely a political document.
It is a direct assault—a piece of paper with the power to unravel lives—and it flies in the face of scientific understanding, which recognizes sex as a complex cluster of traits, not a simple, immutable binary.
The consequences of this state-sanctioned othering are written in the harrowing data from our own national health agencies.
The CDC’s 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which for the first time included questions on transgender identity, reveals a landscape of profound distress. A heartbreaking 71.9 percent of transgender students report persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness.
They are significantly more likely to be bullied at school, with 40 percent reporting such experiences, and they face a terrifyingly high suicide risk.
About one in ten transgender students had a suicide attempt in the past year that required treatment by a doctor or nurse. This is not a coincidence—it is the direct result of stigma and victimization.
Research from The Trevor Project confirms that LGBTQ young people who experience victimization report more than twice the rate of attempting suicide.
Transgender people face a higher risk of suicide, but the research on this issue reflects their broader marginalization in society. There’s still far too little work being done to understand why this risk is elevated and how best to address it.
Here in New Jersey, the battle lines are drawn not just in the halls of power but in the examination rooms of local hospitals.
Garden State Equality reports that some hospital systems are hitting the brakes on care, with families self-reporting denials and providers referring patients out of state due to “uncertainty” and “federal threats.”
The state’s Attorney General has joined multistate litigation, securing an injunction against the federal government’s attempted ban and affirming that the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination continues to protect access to care.
But for a family with a transgender child, the political and legal back-and-forth creates a world of fear. The Trevor Project found that nearly two in three LGBTQ young people said that hearing about potential laws banning discussions of LGBTQ people at school made their mental health a lot worse.
This is the psychological toll of a political fight that uses children as pawns.
The administration’s crusade extends far beyond healthcare, reaching into the most fundamental aspects of daily life.
The suspension of the policy allowing accurate gender markers on passports forces transgender individuals to carry documents that out them, increasing the risk of harassment and violence during travel.
There are pushes to bar transgender students from sports and to dictate where they are housed in federal prisons—policies that advocates argue are as discriminatory as they are dangerous. This is a comprehensive effort to push a vibrant and resilient community back into the shadows.
Yet in the face of this onslaught, there is resistance—and there is hope. Studies show that simple acts of affirmation can be lifesaving.
Transgender and nonbinary young people who have all of their pronouns respected by the people they live with report lower rates of suicide attempts.
Those who find their schools to be gender-affirming also experience a dramatic positive impact on their mental health.
This is the antidote to the poison of prejudice: connection, respect, and a steadfast commitment to humanity. As one CDC official noted, when we address the needs of the most vulnerable, all young people benefit.
The fight in New Jersey and across the nation is not just about policies; it is about the fundamental right to exist, to be seen, and to be saved. The question is not whether the government will succeed in its campaign of erasure, but whether the rest of us will stand idly by while it tries.