Rose Yard is counting down the days until her 18th birthday on Sept. 9. While some teenagers may look forward to being able to vote, or getting a tattoo or piercing without adult permission, she is excited to go to the doctor to get the medical care she needs and replenish the dwindling supplies of hormones she needs as a trans woman.
“When I did get my hormones, it was really life-saving,” Yard said. “I don’t mean that lightly. I mean truly, I would not be here without that.”
She always knew she was a girl, but her appearance didn’t yet reflect that. Unsatisfied with the way she looked, Yard contemplated suicide several times as young as 8 years old. Bullying and ostracism at the private Christian school that she attended only made things worse.
After three years of fighting it, she finally mustered up the courage to begin transitioning. At 13, she began taking prescribed hormones, until Sept. 3, 2023, when Senate Bill 14 went into effect, banning transgender youth from accessing puberty blockers and hormone therapy.