Geoff Bennett:
In 2023, we introduced you to a transgender girl named Leah. She was living in Texas with her parents, John (ph) and Mary. We concealed their identities because families like theirs faced growing threats.
Since then, lawmakers have taken steps to further restrict the rights of transgender people. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld state bans on transition medical care for minors. And this evening, the U.S. House passed a bill that would make it a felony to provide those treatments. It still needs Senate approval.
William Brangham recently caught up with Leah and her family as they wrestled with their next steps.
William Brangham:
This is a day that, for a while, Leah hoped would never come. She told us as much a couple years ago.
Leah, Teenager:
We just have our whole life here, and the last thing I want to do is, you have to move.
William Brangham:
But now, at the age of 15, Leah and her parents, John and Mary, have decided they must move. They have packed their entire life into boxes prepped for the truck in their driveway. They’re leaving Texas for Colorado, seeking refuge in a state with friendlier policies for transgender kids like Leah.
Leah:
I have lived here pretty much all my life, so definitely it’s going to be a big change.
William Brangham:
Leah came out as trans several years ago. First, she transitioned socially, changing her name and her clothes. She did years of counseling, started on puberty blockers, and just over a year ago began taking estrogen.
Those steps are all considered gender-affirming care, which is endorsed by major U.S. medical associations. But those treatments have come under increased scrutiny in recent years, and more than half of U.S. states now have laws restricting this kind of care for anyone under 18. Texas passed its ban in 2023.
Last year, Leah and her family began making regular trips to New Mexico for her treatment, traveling hundreds of miles and spending thousands of dollars.
Mary, Mother of Leah: We have other kids. We have adult kids, and I feel like we have given them every opportunity for anything that they wanted to do, and we cannot do that right now for Leah. And she deserves that too.
William Brangham:
Texas now requires a person’s driver’s license to match the gender on their birth certificate. It bars teachers from discussing gender identity or sexual orientation, and prohibits school clubs focused on those issues.
And just this month, a law went into effect banning the use of public bathrooms that don’t correspond to a person’s sex at birth.
Mary:
It still didn’t feel unsafe necessarily, but it felt — it did feel direct. We had to talk to Leah about just laying low, which it just kind of goes against everything we believe and have always told our kids to, like, be themselves and be proud of who they are.
And it was kind of the first time we really had to be like, we can’t talk about this at all.
William Brangham:
So, this fall, John and Mary decided to put their House on the market.
John, Father of Mary: We just need to get rid of the anchor. We will hang out here. And then, that way, we can go as needed. The way things unfolded, the house sold within days of setting it up. So we just had to look at the situation and say, OK, maybe it’s time to go now.
William Brangham:
In October, they piled into the moving truck and made the over-14-hour trek from Austin to Denver. Colorado is known as a trans refuge state, and many families with trans kids have moved here in recent years. It’s one of 17 states in the District of Columbia that protect access to gender-affirming care.
Earlier this year, Colorado passed an anti-discrimination law that, among other provisions, aims to ensure that trans people are called by their chosen names. So, when you saw the “Welcome to Colorado,” it felt like?
John:
As soon as we crossed over, there was a little bit wave of emotion. And I did not expect that at all, the motion of relief. There was a happiness to it, and there was an immediate calmness.
Mary:
Just today, you said “I haven’t felt this peaceful” in I don’t know how long. So just that, I think, has made all of this worth it, honestly.
William Brangham:
Leah, John and Mary are now renting a house in the Denver area. Leah has started at a new school and she recently got into a local clinic for her care.
Leah:
Everybody is just like — wants me here. It’s amazing.
Mary:
She will share, like, “Today, in English class, we read an essay and the essay was about a gay boy.” And she’s like, “I’m just — I’m so happy we’re here.”
And I’m just like, OK, this is why we did this.
William Brangham:
Despite that relief, John especially is shaken by the idea that they have become refugees in their own country.
John:
I have been having conversations with my parents about our parallel journeys. Back in the 80s, we fled Central America because of the communist wars and we fled to the United States. And the United States gave us a life, gave us opportunity that we didn’t expect.
So now we’re looking at, we need to keep our family, safe. What does that mean? We’re looking at it from one state to another state within the country. Within the country that the world used to flee to for safety and opportunity, we’re looking to flee from. And that’s just mind-blowing.
William Brangham:
And there’s a larger concern that, even in Colorado, the threats are not eliminated.
President Donald Trump:
Official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female.
(Cheering)
William Brangham:
Since retaking office, President Trump has moved to restrict the rights of transgender Americans. The State Department stopped allowing passports that match trans people’s gender identities. The Pentagon reinstated a ban on transgender troops.
Pete Hegseth, U.S. Defense Secretary:
Expressing a false gender identity divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service.
Donald Trump:
The war on women’s sports is over.
(Cheering)
William Brangham:
The administration threatened to withhold funding from states where transgender girls are allowed to play in girls sports.
Donald Trump:
We will defend the proud tradition of female athletes and we will not allow men to beat up, injure and cheat our women and our girls.
William Brangham:
And an executive order in January put hospitals and clinics at risk of losing federal dollars if they continued to practice gender-affirming medical care.
Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary:
The Biden administration peddled dangerous policies that defied medical science in favor of radical transgender ideology. But President Trump has put an end to that, to ensure America’s children’s innocence is protected.
William Brangham:
Some providers preemptively stopped those treatments, even in states where they were otherwise protected. Multiple clinics in Colorado stopped care for a while.
Mary:
We were looking at other states because of that. We ended up here because we have other children and we need to be near them, and this was the closest that we could be to them. But that was definitely something that we took into consideration and for a while crossed Colorado off of our list. But here we are and we feel safe for now.
John:
At the end of the day, we’re going to keep her safe and she’s going to transition. Whether we got to do it here in Canada, in Spain, in Antarctica, wherever it is, we’re going to do that. And we have decided that we are going to be prepared to pivot as much as we need to.
William Brangham:
Leah says, despite all her parents’ efforts, the pressure on trans people in America is pervasive and it’s hard to keep it at bay.
Leah:
Transitioning is like the best thing that’s ever happened to me. So, like, I never take that back. Now that I’m here with my people that want to protect me, I mean, it’s a totally different mind-set, because, at some point, I did feel like I hurt so, so, so much from the kids at school and just from people in taxes in general that I started to question, am I the problem?
Mary:
I didn’t know you thought that. She’s done a great job of hiding that. She’s the bravest person I know, fearless.
William Brangham:
For the “PBS News Hour,” I’m William Brangham in Denver, Colorado.
