BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) - After the veto was overturned by the Louisiana Legislature for the ban on gender-affirming care for minors, families of transgender and nonbinary children are quickly looking to get a plan in place. Some even are looking to pack their bags and move to another state.

At a young age, Cathleen Hyde’s son came out to her as transgender. She put him into counseling and had a number of meetings with different doctors to find the right path to treat his gender dysphoria.

“He's doing great. It's not fair to him to face the possibility that he'll be destabilized by withdrawing his medication. That's not fair for any of the kids,” Hyde said.

For the last few years he has been in therapy and on puberty blockers. The legislation allows for kids already receiving treatment until the end of 2024 to come off of it. No new patients can get it starting on Jan. 1, 2024.

“The approach that we've had with our current treatment team is a very conservative approach, and they are absolutely not rushing kids into any interventions,” Hyde said.

Being just weeks away from turning 13, her son will not be allowed this care when the law goes into effect next year. They are looking at other states where he can go every few months to get a prescription. Hyde said it will be a challenge to start over with a new care team to figure out the best path for her son. For now, they don’t want to leave their home state permanently.

Families consider leaving Louisiana

“My son is a ninth-generation Louisianan, and I don't want to leave Louisiana. I think that our decision is going to be based on what comes in the next year or two,” Hyde said. “As far as potential legislation that may be introduced.”

Some elected officials across multiple states, including Louisiana, have shown an interest in getting information on people who cross state lines to get this care.

Some families are looking for a way out of Louisiana.

“How can we stay here? It feels like these bills are just nationwide and just sweeping across the country,” said Destiny Mink.

Mink’s nonbinary child has had a hard time finding support in their school and the community. She said many teachers and neighbors have been against using their preferred pronouns. 

“We're being called groomers for simply, you know, protecting our child, accepting our child, supporting our child,” Mink said.

While they do not receive medication, the rise in anti-LGBTQ legislation has Mink and her family looking at other states to move to. She said some other families she's spoken to are looking to do the same if they can afford it.

“We did think about staying just to advocate, but I feel like doors are just getting slammed in our faces left and right,” Mink said.

What options are here?

Dr. Clifton Mixon with Forum for Equality provides counseling for transgender kids. He is scared of what will happen to the kids who must come off these treatments or wait several years to get them.

“We're going to see these kids who have been stable and have been living a very incredible life where they feel supported and they can be themselves,” Mixon said. “We're going to see that taken away. And what we're going to see is kids are going to decline pretty quickly as their body starts to change around them in a way that is not consistent with who they are.”

Mixon said he was getting messages from parents during the veto session asking what they will have to do to help their kids. He said for those who can’t afford to go out of state he recommends therapy for the kids and to wrap them with as much support as possible.

“[Help] them connect with other kids like them, bringing them support groups, helping them find pride in who they are, despite the government telling them that they should be ashamed of who they are,” Mixon said.

During the veto override session, lawmakers claimed the legislation is unconstitutional and could end up in the courts as it has in many other surrounding states. Others still believe that families should not have this healthcare as an option for their kids.