Planned Parenthood offers a huge array of essential health care services, treatments, and resources for people across the board — and now, Planned Parenthood's services for the transgender community, including hormone replacement therapy and mental health care, have expanded to a new state. According to the Naples Daily News, Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida — a region which includes Tampa, Fort Meyers, and Orlando — will begin offering these trans-specific resources in 11 of their clinics in October. Interestingly, these 11 clinics will be the first Planned Parenthood locations in the state of Florida to offer services specifically for the transgender community. (Bustle has reached out both to Planned Parenthood and Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida for comment.)
Of course, Planned Parenthood has always been open to people of all sexual and gender identities, but the expansion of trans-specific services is super important. According to Dr. Sujatha Prabhakaran, an OB/GYN and vice president of medical affairs for Planned Parenthood in the region, speaking with the Naples Daily News, these 11 clinics will now provide prescription-based hormone replacement therapy to trans people while they transition; furthermore, these hormone treatments will be available whether or not individuals opt to undergo surgery.
Separate from hormone treatments, these Planned Parenthood clinics are also offering cancer screenings, STI screenings, and mental health care referrals for the transgender community — all of which are hugely important, especially since many people in the transgender community lack equal, safe, and affordable access to medical care. Additionally, the Naples Daily News reports that Planned Parenthood of South, East, and North Florida also plans to add the services to their roster later.
These Florida clinics join a number of other Planned Parenthood locations across the United States that also offer hormone replacement therapy and other services specific to the transgender community. They're not available everywhere (even though they really should be), but according to Planned Parenthood's Tumblr, these are the states and cities you can find these specific services:
1. California
2. Colorado
3. Maine
4. Montana
5. New Hampshire
6. New York
7. Nevada
8. North Carolina
9. Vermont
10. Washington
As explained on Planned Parenthood's Tumblr, the cost of Planned Parenthood's hormone replacement therapies varies based on your insurance provider and the specific Planned Parenthood location you're at.
For the transgender community, seeking medical care be a scary experience. Many transgender individuals reporting avoiding going to the doctor, and avoiding medical care in general, for fear of being misgendered or having their gender identity questioned. Indeed, according to the 2010 National Transgender Discrimination Report, 19 percent of respondents reported being refused medical care due to the gender identity, 28 percent of respondents reported experiencing harassment in medical settings, and 2 percent reported being victims of violence while in doctor's offices. 50 percent of respondents reported feeling that their healthcare provider lacked knowledge of transgender identities.
For these reasons, it's wonderful to see providers like Planned Parenthood openly supporting the transgender community and making their trans-friendly services known and accessible.
Images: Giphy (10)
