Learning Series
Care Not Control: Gender Culture, Policy & the Fight for Youth Bodily Autonomy
April 28, 2026
Welcome to the second part of Care not Control! In this edition, Gender Culture, Policy & the Fight for Youth Bodily Autonomy, we look at how Gender Justice intersects with young people’s bodily autonomy. During the 2026 legislative sessions, we keep seeing attempts to deny young people access to abortion. But another threat to us and our loved ones’ healthcare and bodily autonomy is also on the rise. Elected officials and governmental actors are actively working to expand control over the healthcare and bodily autonomy of another historically oppressed group of people: transgender and gender expansive young people.
Join us in the fight to protect transgender and gender expansive bodily autonomy.
Trans Youth: Autonomy Restricted
Trans youth’s autonomy is highly restricted. Almost daily, trans and gender expansive youth across our communities experience a disruption in their sense of safety and belonging. The heavy politicization, legislation, restriction, and criminalization of gender-affirming care for transgender and gender expansive young people deeply harm individuals and families.
Access to healthcare is not guaranteed, and young folks are often the first to feel the direct impact of new legislation. Gender-affirming care for transgender young people is safe and life-saving. Bans and restrictions targeting youth directly harm their health and their ability to access the support of those they trust. Every major medical association agrees that transition care is medically necessary and should be available in all communities.
Abortion funds across the NNAF network believe every young person should have access to abortion and gender-affirming healthcare. Without barriers and within their communities.
Efforts to chip away at trans youths’ access to gender- affirming care mirror legislative attacks on abortion. We know these are all steps to control what we can and can’t do with our bodies. We predict that future rounds of legislation will extend authority over adult populations who have been historically oppressed. In the U.S., the current administration’s harmful rhetoric about trans people also further endangers and demonizes folks who are trans. It denies us the healthcare we all need to stay safe, happy, and healthy.
No Bodily Autonomy Without Youth Power!
Abortion funds show up for young people: Jane’s Due Process shifts stigma in their communities, and Florida Access Network advocates for the decriminalization of adult abortion helpers.
Control & the Disguise of Protection
Did you know: Over half the states in the U.S. have passed legislation targeting young people’s access to gender-affirming care.
Some states have proactively designed laws to protect vital healthcare, like abortion and gender-affirming care. But the current administration’s national actions make it harder for local institutions to honor commitments to medical care for youth and their families. This creates a more hostile environment for young people.
Conservatives are causing harm outside of politics, too. Here’s how:
- They’re spreading misinformation and creating a negative and untrue narrative about families and communities who provide support for young trans and gender expansive people.
- They’re framing parents who secure gender-affirming care for their children as child abusers. Just like when parents help with accessing abortion.
- They’re accusing counselors and medical providers, social and care workers, and teachers of promoting “immoral” sexual behavior for creating inclusive environments that include comprehensive education on sex, gender, and healthy relationships.
- They’re falsely labeling transgender adults and organizations that support queer and trans young people as “groomers.” Instead, these folks should be celebrated for providing affirming support.
The people with the most power—including many in the current administration and in elected office—are posing tangible threats to the safety, autonomy, dignity, and lives of young folks. We are witnessing a hyper focus on legally and culturally enshrining the patriarchal oppression of women, queer and trans folks, and young people. Epstein and the exposure of the global power wielded by pedophiles, the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 and “Saving America by Saving the Family,” and “natural birth control” apps marketed to young people, all highlight how they control, victimize, and harm young people as the cornerstone of patriarchal power
Young people deserve affirming and supportive environments that honor their dignity and autonomy. The current administration’s policies threaten young people’s autonomy and safety, increasing their isolation and vulnerability. Young folks should have access to healthcare options—abortion, parenting, adoption, gender-affirming care—without punishment or fear of criminalization for themselves or the people who support them. The Kentucky Health Justice Network and other NNAF member abortion funds work every day to ensure trans folks, including trans youth, have shame-free access to and support for their gender-affirming healthcare.
Respect All Youth Autonomy
We must care about the young people in our lives enough to trust them, honor them, and meet them where they’re at. Supporting youth autonomy is essential to reversing attacks on trans youth healthcare. To make youth power and their bodily autonomy possible, young people need adults in their lives to support and advocate for them.
Four ways to support young trans people in your community:
Reflect! How do you see young people and their ability to lead decisions about their pregnancies and gender identities? Journal about these questions: How can you disrupt some of the challenges to youth healthcare? If you’re in a position of power or in proximity to power, can you support youth autonomy for all? What’s one step you can take to support youth justice and youth Gender Justice in your community? What are you doing to let the trans youth in your life know that you are safe and supportive of their autonomy and dignity?
Get educated! Learn about the work that young people are leading in your community. Young folks often create networks of care for their peers, and they need your support! Explore the resources in your community that support young people’s access to healthcare. Read How to Best Support Transgender and Nonbinary Young People from the Trevor Project.
Plug into Mutual Aid! Get involved with abortion funds. The Kentucky Health Justice Network (KHJN) and other collectives directly support young people in accessing gender-affirming care. Donate to KHJN, Jane’s Due Process, Right by You, and Abortion Fund of Ohio today! And build community with NNAF: Explore Power in Our Hands, have a Heart-to-Heart Abortion Conversation, learn How to Support Abortion Funds, or join a Local Fund Event.
Join NNAF’s Youth Justice Webinar! On May 20, 2026, NNAF and abortion access allies will host a live Youth Justice webinar. We’ll talk about the impacts of abortion criminalization and limitations on young folks who have abortions, the effects of restrictive laws and cultural norms on young people’s access to dignity, and a full spectrum of healthcare, including abortion and gender-affirming healthcare. Register today!
Meet us in your inbox—or on the Care Not Control page! Keep learning and strengthening youth bodily autonomy with us.