Kimberly Shappley: Don't make me leave Texas to support my transgender child

(Kimberly Shappley is a registered nurse at KIND Clinic and the mother of a transgender girl, Kai.) Kai loves school. I mean, sure — on some days it’s hard to get her up and dressed for school, but I’m the mom of a 10-year-old. That comes with the territory. What really matters is that she’s excited to see her classmates and happy to be in class. As the mother of a transgender child, it is difficult to express what a blessing that is. Here in Austin, her teachers want the best for her, she has a great circle of friends, and our community supports her. That’s exactly what we hoped for when we moved here. In 2018 I moved my family from Pearland, and I don’t want to move my children again, but I’m worried that we might have to. Texas legislators are currently debating a slate of bills that would put the lives of transgender youth like my daughter at risk.HB 1399 and HB 68 would ban the medical care she needs, and would punish her doctors, nurses and family for supporting her health and wellbeing. HB 68 goes so far as to accuse families who support their transgender children of committing “child abuse,” subjecting to criminal penalties for supporting their children.

If these bills pass, I will have to uproot our family and leave for a state with comprehensive nondiscrimination laws that explicitly prohibit discrimination against students on the basis of gender identity. Kai would have to leave their friends behind. As a mother and a registered nurse, I urge our state legislators to reject these harmful bans on best practice medical care. I also call on Congress to support a federal law that would protect the 13 million LGBTQ Americans across virtually every area of daily life. It can be hard to understand what it’s like to have a transgender child, especially if you’ve never met someone who is transgender. My daughter was clear about her gender from a very young age, but it took me some time before I was able to accept the truth. She socially transitioned right before starting kindergarten. For Kai, social transition meant affirming her gender by using a new name and pronouns and letting her wear the clothes she felt comfortable wearing. By that time, I had learned that the best way to support her was to embrace her for who she is.