Dr. Susan Lacy had been caring for transgender patients for several years in Tennessee when, in 2023, everything changed. In the span of a few months, the Republican-governed state banned healthcare providers from treating minors for gender dysphoria.

Conservative groups have for years sought to reduce the government’s sway over parents’ childrearing choices, particularly when it comes to decisions about school and health care.

I think we all need to take a break from thinking and talking about trans people.” It’s lightly off message coming from the co-director with the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project, who, on December 4, will become the first openly transgender attorney to argue a case before the Supreme Court.