NEWS
Planned Parenthood Expands Trans Healthcare Three local centers offer hormone therapy with informed consent. By LOURDES ZAVALETA
PLANNED PARENTHOOD
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any transgender people struggle to access affirming and affordable healthcare in Texas, but Planned Parenthood is working to change that. At least 22 percent of trans Texans didn’t see a doctor when they needed to in 2015 due to fear of being mistreated, and at least 38 percent could not afford it, according to the latest Texas State Report from the National Center for Transgender Equality. In order to address these issues and others, Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast (PPGC)—a nonprofit that has provided reproductive healthcare to Greater Houston and Louisiana for the last 80 years—has expanded its services for trans and gender-nonconforming patients in three of its locations, says PPGC Medical Director Bhavik Kumar. Over the summer, PPGC launched gender-affirming hormone therapy at the Northville Health Center of Houston and the New Orleans Health Center of Louisiana. In October, the nonprofit added this service to its Prevention Park location in central Houston. “At Planned Parenthood, we believe everybody deserves healthcare—whether you’re cis or you’re trans,” Kumar says. “We’re also experts at recognizing when folks are marginalized, and helping to reduce those barriers. Offering trans care at our centers is in line with that.” Some trans Texans have to drive three to five hours just to locate competent and affirming healthcare, according to Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT) Executive Director Emmett Schelling. And even in metropolitan areas like Houston, trans folks face obstacles
Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast now offers gender-affirming hormone therapy for patients 18 years old and up at Northville Health Center of Houston, New Orleans Health Center of Louisiana, and Prevention Park Health Center.
accessing healthcare due to societal issues, such as income and employment status, homelessness, and transportation. “It’s great that Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast expanded its gender-affirming hormone therapy,” Schelling says, “especially because so many trans issues are linked to reproductive justice, and what it means to have bodily autonomy and control over your own medical decisions. “This is a game-changer,” Schelling adds. “Planned Parenthood is a trusted organization, and it has the ability to expand this care in areas where folks don’t have any other access to these services.” The first Planned Parenthood affiliate began providing hormone therapy in 2005, and currently over 100 Planned Parenthood health centers in 28 states offer genderaffirming hormone therapy.
After PPGC added hormone therapy to its Northville and New Orleans centers, Kumar says the nonprofit saw higher rates of trans and gender-nonconforming patients visiting those locations. This solidified PPGC’s decision to begin offering these services at Prevention Park. “Houston is such a large area, and folks have to drive very far just to get from one side of the city to the other,” Kumar says. “Prevention Park, being central, is convenient for many people, so we wanted to make sure we had these services in that location.” Kumar says PPGC makes its healthcare affirming to trans and gendernonconforming patients by educating its staff to be knowledgable about gender CONTINUED ON PAGE 14 OutSmartMagazine.com | NOVEMBER 2019 11
