I drafted and placed this piece in the Bangor Daily News (Bangor, ME) on behalf of a previous client.

Pride Month in Maine was marked by festive parades celebrating LGBTQ+ identity and our state’s long history of activism and organizing for LGBTQ+ rights. However, the month also reminds us that the LGBTQ+ community has had to fight for the equality others take for granted.

Right now, more than 600 anti-LGBTQ+ bills are active in state legislatures across the country, many targeting the rights of trans people. These bills threaten bodily freedom, including proposals to restrict or eliminate access to essential gender-affirming care.

At Maine Family Planning, we believe that people who need medically necessary health care deserve access to a safe and supportive environment. However, too many barriers to access remain. Beyond legislative pushes making care nearly impossible for people in some states, mistrust of the health care system and provider competency in trans health issues often act as significant barriers. That’s why we must do everything we can to make it as easy as possible for our LGBTQ+ neighbors to access the health care they deserve.

Gender-affirming health care is both safe and medically necessary for the well-being of many trans and gender non-conforming people. This critical care is backed by decades of well-established research and supported by every major medical association. Medical research also makes clear that for some youth, there are grave risks associated with delaying or denying care.

As specialists in sexual and reproductive health, we work hard to provide compassionate, confidential health services, regardless of gender identity or expression. Gender-affirming care is always delivered in age-appropriate, evidence-based ways after consultations with providers. We engage in a very deliberate process to establish any patient’s need for gender-affirming care before therapy can begin. We listen and provide support without judgment.

Unfortunately, for too many trans and gender non-conforming people, that’s not always the norm. We’ve seen countless patients who have been mistreated by other providers, from being misgendered or called by the wrong name to transphobic attitudes and behaviors, including discrimination or refusal to provide services. Many have encountered providers who lacked the knowledge and skills necessary to accurately assess and care for them.

A visit with a health care provider should always be a place you feel comfortable and safe, and our clinics are fully committed to providing such an environment. Our Open Door Gender-Affirming Health Care program is staffed by providers fluent in current care standards and prepared to answer questions and guide patients through the process. We’re committed to ongoing training and education to ensure our staff is well-prepared to meet the needs of our LGBTQ+ patients.

Despite facing an uphill battle to create a more just world, Pride Month reminds us that progress is being made. In April, Gov. Janet Mills signed  LD 227, An Act Regarding Health Care in the State, which reaffirms a person’s fundamental right to make informed medical decisions together with their trusted care providers. We’re hopeful this law will allow people being denied access to care in other parts of the country to come to Maine to get the care they need. But we still have a lot of work here in Maine and across the country to strengthen civil protections for LGBTQ+ people, especially in health care.

Every day, we’re inspired by the resilience and courage of our LGBTQ+ patients. That’s really what Pride is about: the resilience and courage to be who you are without shame or fear. That’s why we’re committed to building a world where medically necessary care our LGBTQ+ neighbors need is universally accessible, free from stigma and celebrated as a fundamental aspect of comprehensive health care.