Trans Youth Lose Lifesaving Care and Crisis Support in One Day
On June 18, 2025, two decisions collided in devastating fashion: the Supreme Court upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth, and the federal government quietly announced that the LGBTQ+ support option on the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline would be shut down—not in the fall as originally planned, but in just 30 days.
If this feels cruel, it’s because it is.
At a time when trans youth are facing unprecedented attacks on their right to exist—to access medically necessary care, to feel safe in school, to be seen by their own government—removing access to crisis support is not just negligent. It's dangerous.
Gender-affirming care is backed by every major medical and psychological association in the country. It saves lives. And yet, lawmakers and courts are stripping it away in the name of “protecting” children, ignoring the lived experiences of the very people these policies affect. Then, as those same young people are pushed to the brink, we're told there’s no funding left for them to even talk to someone who understands.
We knew the 988 “Press 3” option was at risk. But we didn’t expect the timeline to be accelerated. What was slated to end this fall is now ending next month—with no plan to fill the gap. That’s not just administrative reshuffling. That’s a direct removal of one of the only affirming crisis resources available to LGBTQ+ youth in a country increasingly hostile to their existence.
The 988 line was more than a phone number. It was a lifeline. Since its launch in 2022, over 1.3 million calls, texts, and chats have come through from LGBTQ+ youth in crisis—many of whom had nowhere else to turn. For those navigating unsupportive families, unsafe communities, or unbearable internal pressure, a compassionate voice on the other end of the line made all the difference.
Now, that support is vanishing.
We cannot pretend this is a coincidence. When they ban care and dismantle crisis response in the same breath, it sends a chilling message: They don’t want trans youth to survive.
Some will say that’s too harsh. But when policies are enacted knowing full well they will result in harm—especially to children—we have to ask ourselves: what else do we call it?
If you're feeling overwhelmed, you're not alone.
Now more than ever, we need to show up. Not just in spirit, but in action.
That means funding mutual aid, supporting organizations like The Trevor Project and Trans Lifeline, calling elected officials, and demanding better—for every kid who deserves to live, to thrive, and to be loved just as they are.
Because no one should have to fight this hard just to stay alive.
