近距离内射合集

As some conservative states restrict access to gender-affirming care for transgender people, New Mexico is increasingly positioning itself as a safe haven.

In the past six months, Planned Parenthood clinics in New Mexico have seen a 50% increase in patients seeking hormonal treatments, said Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains CEO Adrianne Mansanares. Half of those patients were from out of state.

Grace Dukes, a 19-year-old transgender woman, is an example of one of many patients who have uprooted their lives for medical care.

鈥淚 was a fifth-generation Texan,鈥� Dukes said.

Now, Dukes won鈥檛 set a foot in her home state. She feels betrayed by elected officials who voted to ban gender-affirming care for minors, which shuttered the clinic she attended and forced her family to leave, she said.

In New Mexico, the Democratic majority has often taken the opposite approach of Texan lawmakers, making the state a travel destination for out-of-state patients seeking stigmatized treatments like hormone therapy or abortion. In 2023, the Legislature passed two bills surrounding gender-affirming care, one patients and another doctors.

Mansanares described New Mexico as 鈥渙ne of the most welcoming states鈥� for gender-affirming care.

鈥淚 take great pride in that,鈥� Mansanares said. 鈥淚t's really wonderful that people see New Mexico as a place where they can come.鈥�

However, not everyone agrees.

鈥淔irst, whether it鈥檚 abortion or transgender services, the most fundamental failure of Planned Parenthood is that they don鈥檛 provide options so much as they push their views on highly impressionable people,鈥� said Amy Barela, chairwoman of the Republican Party of New Mexico. 鈥淪econd, taxpayer dollars shouldn鈥檛 go to fund these types of services when a significant percentage of New Mexicans are 鈥� against it.鈥�

There is no scientific polling on New Mexicans鈥� opinions about gender-affirming care. Additionally, Planned Parenthood does receive state funding through Medicaid reimbursements; however, those funds cover the cost of abortions for Medicaid patients, not gender-affirming care. 

In an October special legislative session, lawmakers approved a $3 million budget to contract with nonprofits like Planned Parenthood to cover gaps in Medicaid coverage, but with the fiscal year ongoing, it鈥檚 unclear how much has been spent at Planned Parenthood specifically.

Because gender-affirming care is covered by Medicaid federally, the state does not provide stopgap funding for that health care. 

Meanwhile, Dukes said that gender identity and transition are fundamentally misunderstood by those who oppose it. Cisgender people, meaning those who identify with their biological sex, often believe the process is a spontaneous phase or product of outside influence, she said.

鈥淚 essentially always knew; I just didn't have the words to explain it,鈥� Dukes said.

鈥楾here was no fighting it鈥�

At 14, Dukes realized she didn鈥檛 identify with the sex on her birth certificate. Through the internet, she found a term for what she was feeling: gender dysphoria.

After a few months of counseling, Dukes, with her parents鈥� support, decided to begin hormone therapy, which included pills, injections or patches of hormones like estrogen or testosterone.

Just as Dukes began hormone therapy, Republicans in the Texas legislature and executive office were moving in the opposite direction. , which banned gender-affirming care for minors, had 95 Republican sponsors and sailed through both chambers to become law in 2023.

The law banned hormonal therapy, puberty blockers and gender-transition surgeries for minors, despite the latter procedure rarely being performed on adolescents under 18.

A 2024 Harvard School of Public Health found that such surgeries are never performed on prepubescent children and are rarely performed on children ages 15 to 17, at a rate of 2.1 operations per 100,000 teenagers diagnosed with gender dysphoria.

Before the bill made the books, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had already pledged to investigate parents suspected of treating children with hormone therapies and charge them with child abuse. Paxton also opened investigations into Texas hospitals that offered gender-affirming care, including Dell Children鈥檚 Medical Center in Austin, where Dukes received her treatment.

After the announcement, all the physicians who treated Dukes the state.

鈥淭here was no fighting it,鈥� Dukes said. 鈥淭hat was around mid-April, 2023, and that was when we realized that we had to leave.鈥�

Dukes鈥� story isn鈥檛 unique.

Mansanares said that statistics indicate that people are increasingly crossing state lines for stigmatized treatments like gender-affirming care or abortion. In the past six months, 200 gender-affirming care appointments were scheduled for out-of-state patients, Mansanares said, marking a sharp increase.

Those patients are most often from conservative states such as Texas or Utah, where treatment is restricted for children and stigmatized for adults.

鈥淲e shouldn't ever have to leave our home communities for any kind of medical care,鈥� Mansanares said.

Especially when treatment is well-tested and safe, Mansanares said. Cisgender men and women routinely receive hormonal therapies for menopause symptoms or sexual dysfunction.

鈥淗ormonal therapy is a very safe regimen,鈥� Mansanares said. 鈥淭he fact that this is being outlawed or banned or that this targeting is happening is incredibly cruel and not at all based in medical science.鈥�

Dukes also described hormone treatment as 鈥渓ife-saving鈥� for transgender youth, who have a heightened rate of suicide compared to their peers. According to a 2022 published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 86% of transgender youth reported at least having thoughts of suicide, while 56% have made at least one suicide attempt.

That trend also follows to adults, 82% of whom report suicidality. Anecdotally, Mansanares said that before receiving hormonal therapy transgender patients at Planned Parenthood clinics often report symptoms of depression.

鈥淥ver time, their depression significantly improves and they feel hopeful, comfortable in their own body.鈥� Mansanares said. 鈥淲e've had patients that talk to us about opening up to relationships and beginning dating and thinking about planning a wedding when none of that would be possible without hormonal care.鈥�

With stakes high for her peers, Dukes said access to medical care is more critical than politicians purport to understand.

鈥淭his misinformation endangers lives because gender-affirming care saves lives,鈥� Dukes said. 鈥淲e have fought for decades just to have basic human dignity and respect from other people.鈥�

Gillian Barkhurst is the local government reporter for the Journal. She can be reached at gbarkhurst@abqjournal.com.