Youth Care Bans & Shield Laws
Bans on best-practice medical care represent one of the most extreme and coordinated political attacks on transgender people in recent years. These bills target transgender youth by blocking their access to best-practice medical care, care that is backed by years of rigorous research and endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, and other leading health authorities. These bills not only display a fundamental lack of understanding of transgender children, but they also ban access to medical care often by criminalizing either the doctors or even the parents of transgender youth seeking to provide best-practice medicine for children in their care. For more on these efforts, including how these attacks have become more extreme over time, read MAP’s 2023 spotlight report.
*Notes (and see the “Citations” tab or click “Citations & More Information” below the map legend for more information about every state):Â
–Arizona banned surgical care for transgender minors in 2022, but in 2023 a new governor issued an executive order with “shield” style protections for transgender health care that is still legal in the state. Go to the transgender healthcare “shield” Equality Map to learn more about these laws.
–Multiple states have “grandfather” clauses, “weaning off” clauses, or limited exceptions for some transgender youth and/or for some types of medication. Click “Citations” to read more detail about each bill or to access the law’s language directly.
For information about the lawsuits challenging states’ bans on medical care for transgender youth, click “Citations & More Information” beneath the map legend.
Bans Permanently Blocked
The following laws are permanently blocked from being enforced, though appeals may be ongoing. Transgender youth should still be able to access care legally.
-Montana: In May 2025, a judge blocked the state’s ban, ruling it unconstitutional, though the state may yet appeal. The 2025 block builds on an earlier temporary block issued in September 2023.
Bans Temporarily Blocked (In Full or In Part)
The following laws are at least partially blocked from being enforced, though these court cases are still ongoing. Transgender youth should still be able to access care legally to the extent each of these blocks allow.
–Kansas: In May 2026, a judge temporarily blocked the state’s ban, ruling it likely unconstitutional, though the court case is still ongoing.
Bans Not Yet in Effect (In Full or In Part)
-None at this time, though Montana and Kansas are blocked as noted above.
Recommended citation:
Movement Advancement Project. 2026. “Equality Maps: Bans on Best Practice Medical Care for Transgender Youth.” https://mapresearch.org/equality-map/bans-on-best-practice-medical-care-for-transgender-youth/. Data as of June 12, 2026.
Percent of Transgender Youth Covered by Laws
*Note: These percentages reflect estimates of the transgender youth (ages 13-17) population living in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Estimates of transgender youth in the U.S. territories or under age 13 are not available, and so cannot be reflected here. Population estimates are from The Williams Institute.
