Healthcare is supposed to be a safe haven, a place where anyone walks in feeling seen, heard, and healed no matter who they are or how they identify. But for transgender folks, that promise often crumbles into dust the moment they step through the door, replaced by misgendering, eye-rolls, and sometimes flat-out refusal of care. These aren’t rare slip-ups; they’re everyday battles that chip away at dignity, delay critical treatment, and push people to the brink. From U.S. hospitals to French clinics, the stories pile up, showing a system that’s failing hard. Getting real change means listening to these voices, fixing policies, and training staff to treat trans patients like human beings because anything less is a betrayal of what medicine stands for.
Core Barriers Trans Patients Face
- Misgendering on Repeat: Wrong pronouns despite legal docs
- Outright Refusals: Doctors claiming “not my specialty”
- Unnecessary Tests: Forced procedures that humiliate
- Delayed Diagnoses: Cancer missed due to avoidance
- Mental Health Toll: Suicidal thoughts from disrespect
- Systemic Gaps: Lack of LGBTQ+ training in med school
The fight isn’t just personal, it’s global, legal, and urgent. Stats show nearly half of trans adults face discrimination in healthcare, leading many to skip appointments altogether. Advocacy groups, lawsuits, and public outrage are forcing shifts, but progress crawls. For every win, like a court ruling against a hospital, there’s resistance from providers clinging to old biases. Trans lives hang in the balance; affirming care isn’t optional, it’s lifesaving.
1. Cori Smith’s Past Experience at Highland Hospital
Back in 2014, Cori Smith, another trans man at the same Highland Hospital, rolled in for complications after egg retrieval and got slapped with a “female” wristband right off the bat. He protested loud and clear, but staff laughed, eye-rolled, and said, “We’re not doing that,” refusing a simple swap. Care turned cruel: a needless transvaginal ultrasound in front of gawking med students, no gown, Cori kicking and screaming while nurses chuckled. The pain lingered physically for years, but the emotional scars cut deeper, leaving him feeling like a “freak show exhibit.” Same hospital, same disregard pattern emerging.
Details of Cori’s Humiliation
- Wrong Wristband: Labeled female despite objections
- Staff Mockery: Eye-rolls and outright laughter
- Forced Ultrasound: Medically unnecessary exposure
- No Privacy: Students watched, no covering
- Lasting Pain: Complications worsened by neglect
- Felt Disgusting: “Like a freak show”
Cori sued in 2017 for $750,000, but the case got tossed in the 2018 statute of limitations, plus trans protections weren’t law yet in New York. The hospital claimed “appropriate treatment” after review, but later promised sensitivity training. Cori’s story mirrors Trey’s: disrespect breeds despair, pushing trans folks away from care they desperately need.
2. Dr. Victor Acharian’s Refusal in France
In August 2023, a 26-year-old trans woman in Pau, France, booked a gynecology appointment with Dr. Victor Acharian only to hear him declare he wasn’t “competent” to treat “them” and didn’t mind being called ignorant. He flat-out refused the exam, saying it wasn’t his specialty, then doubled down online: he only treats “real women,” no skills for “men who shave beards and claim womanhood.” The patient left in shock, her boyfriend blasting the story on Google reviews. French press erupted, trans groups filed complaints fast. This wasn’t ignorance; it was blatant gatekeeping.
Breakdown of the Refusal
- Direct Denial: “Not my specialty” excuse
- Online Escalation: “Real women” only rant
- Patient Shock: Left in a “black hole”
- Complaints Filed: SOS Homophobie led charge
- Criminal Threat: Possible sanctions loomed
- Global Echo: Spain’s trans fed joined in
Dr. Acharian faced the French Medical Council in December, copping a one-month suspension starting March, plus five months probation. He apologized later, offering a referral, but the damage rippled half of French trans folks now skip appointments fearing repeats. One doctor’s bias exposed a universal right denied.
3. Joseph Schneier’s Perilous Search for Gynecological Care
Joseph Schneier, a trans man in his early 40s, noticed spotting and weird progesterone levels in 2021 his partner pushed him to get checked. What followed was a soul-crushing year hunting for a New York gynecologist who wouldn’t hang up at “trans man.” First Zocdoc booking? Canceled with “We don’t see patients like you,” then a fake insurance excuse. Two more practices ghosted for the same reason. Joseph paused the search, gutted and dehumanized, dysphoria flaring. Delays nearly cost his life.
Rejections Joseph Faced
- Zocdoc Cancellation: “Patients like you” not seen
- Insurance Lie: Cover for transphobia
- Whispered Truth: Nurse leaked real reason
- Multiple Nos: Two more outright refusals
- Search Paused: Felt too “turned off”
- Cancer Found Late: Ovarian malignancy
Finally, in August 2022, a NYU Langone specialist tied to gender-affirming care gave him surgery that revealed ovarian cancer, one of the deadliest. The doctor said he was lucky; months earlier and it might’ve been too late. Joseph, a healthcare CEO and advocate, wonders aloud: if this happened to him with resources, what about everyone else?
4. The Broader Context of Healthcare Discrimination
Stories like Trey’s, Cori’s, and Joseph’s aren’t outliers; they’re the norm for trans adults worldwide, baked into a system riddled with bias. Center for American Progress dropped bombshell stats in August: almost half of trans folks face negative provider experiences, from misgendering to outright denials. That’s not “oops” territory; it’s an epidemic. Fear keeps 23% from doctors altogether, per a 2015 NCTE survey emotional or physical harm too real. Avoidance breeds worse health outcomes.
Stats Highlighting the Crisis
- Half Affected: Negative experiences routine
- Misgendering Common: Intentional deadnaming
- Care Denied: Outright refusals frequent
- Avoidance Rate: 23% skip docs in fear
- Trust Eroded: Past trauma compounds
- Disparities Widen: Delays turn deadly
This web of discrimination hits mental health hardest, fueling anxiety, depression, even suicide ideation. Trans patients deserve better than a system that punishes identity; fixing it starts with data-driven demands for change.
5. The Denial of Gender-Affirming Care: The Jesse Hammons Case
Jesse Hammons, a trans man, had a hysterectomy lined up at University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center medically necessary for gender dysphoria. A week before, poof: canceled, hospital citing “religious beliefs.” Same procedure done daily for cis patients, but not for Jesse. ACLU sued fast, calling out government-run religious bias. Federal court agreed: Affordable Care Act violated by singling out trans care.
Elements of Jesse’s Denial
- Last-Minute Cancel: Week before surgery
- Religious Excuse: Hospital’s faith overrode
- ACLU Intervention: Joshua Block led charge
- Court Win: ACA breach confirmed
- Policy Exposed: Cis hysterectomies fine
- Jesse’s Relief: Got care elsewhere
Jesse got his surgery in July via another provider, hopeful the ruling forces UMMS to drop the harmful policy. One man’s fight cracked open doors for countless others needing affirming care without judgment.
6. The Deep Scars of Misgendering and Disrespect
You spend years fighting for your name, your body, your truth legal documents, hormones, surgeries, endless appointments just to walk into a hospital bed and be called “she” or “it” like none of it ever happened. That’s exactly what Trey Lowery and Cori Smith endured at Highland Hospital, where staff wouldn’t use “he” even when Quenisha corrected them, even when records screamed male. Misgendering isn’t a slip of the tongue; it’s a deliberate erasure of identity in the one place you’re supposed to feel safe. For trans patients, every wrong pronoun is a dagger sharp, personal, and deep especially when you’re naked under fluorescent lights, scared, and depending on these strangers to keep you alive. The damage isn’t abstract; it’s raw, immediate, and often pushes people to the edge of despair.
Impacts of Repeated Disrespect
- Identity Erasure: Legal “male” overwritten by “she”
- Pronoun Assault: “It,” “they” used despite clear “he”
- Emotional Gut-Punch: Pride dismantled in hours
- Suicidal Spiral: Trey: “I wanted to kill myself”
- Public Exposure: Cori’s ultrasound turned “freak show”
- Lasting Trauma: Felt “disgusting” for years after
Trey told City News the constant “she, she, she” throughout his stay stripped away the pride he’d fought so hard to build, leaving him feeling invisible and unworthy of life. Cori, forced into a medically pointless transvaginal ultrasound in front of gawking medical students with no gown, kicked and screamed while nurses laughed and the doctor stayed silent. He said it made him want to die, that he couldn’t understand why they treated him like a spectacle, exposed and mocked. This isn’t just “rude” it’s psychological violence in scrubs, a betrayal of trust that no patient should survive. Cori’s final words ring true: no medical provider should ever abuse, neglect, embarrass, or refuse to call you by your correct gender. Until that’s non-negotiable, trans patients walk into danger, not healing.
7. The Evolving Legal Framework in the United States
Laws around trans healthcare in the U.S. feel like a tug-of-war rope pulled hard one way, then yanked back, leaving patients dangling in the middle. President Biden brought back Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act in 2021, restoring protections against discrimination in federally funded healthcare based on gender identity and sexual orientation protections Trump had erased. New York finally passed GENDA in 2019 after 16 years of being introduced and shelved, banning bias in housing, jobs, and public spaces based on gender expression. These wins felt monumental, hard-fought victories after decades of advocacy. But the fight’s far from over resistance is fierce, organized, and backed by deep pockets.
Key Legal Milestones
- Biden Restoration: Section 1557 back, trans-inclusive
- GENDA Victory: NY bans gender expression bias
- 16-Year Battle: Bill tabled annually since 2003
- Lawsuit Pushback: 3,000+ providers sue HHS
- Federal Tension: Scope of “discrimination” debated
- State Patchwork: Some safe, others hostile
Even with federal rules in place, enforcement is shaky, hospitals hide behind “religious freedom,” states pass anti-trans care bans, and lawsuits pile up. The Biden admin says denying care based on gender identity is discrimination; providers argue it burdens conscience. Meanwhile, trans patients wait, bleed, and sometimes die in the crossfire. Legal progress is real, but it’s fragile one election, one judge, one lawsuit away from collapse.
8. Navigating Institutional Responses and Policy Shifts
When Trey and Cori went public with their Highland Hospital nightmares, the first response was classic institutional armor: “Care was medically appropriate and compassionate.” They defended the pregnancy test, the wristbands, the ultrasound everything. It’s the standard playbook: deny, deflect, defend. But the stories spread on Twitter, in local news, among trans networks and the pressure built. Slowly, cracks appeared. UR Medicine, which runs Highland, eventually apologized to Cori, ditched gender markers on wristbands, and updated charts to use chosen names and pronouns. They promised “new measures” for staff sensitivity. Change didn’t come from kindness, it came from noise.
Shifts at Highland/URMC
- Initial Denial: “Appropriate care” claim
- Public Backlash: Stories went viral fast
- Wristband Reform: Gender labels removed
- Chart Overhaul: Correct names/pronouns standard
- Sensitivity Training: New protocols promised
- Advocacy Wins: Pressure forced evolution
This wasn’t goodwill, it was survival. Hospitals hate bad press, lawsuits, and lost funding. But the fact that basic dignity like using the right name required public shaming and legal threats shows how broken the system still is. Real change needs to be proactive, not reactive. Until then, every trans patient is a potential whistleblower, forced to fight for respect others get by default.
9. Global Dimensions of Discrimination and Legal Action
Dr. Acharian’s refusal in France wasn’t a cultural outlier it’s a global symptom. A trans woman books a gynecology exam; he says he’s “not competent,” only treats “real women,” then posts it online like a badge of honor. The patient left in tears, her boyfriend blasted it on Google, and within days, trans rights groups filed complaints. The French Medical Council didn’t flinch: one-month suspension, five months probation. But the ripple effect? Half of trans people in France now cancel or delay doctor visits, per Doctors of the World. One doctor’s bias became a national warning.
International Ripples
- Acharian Suspension: One month + probation
- Complaints Surge: SOS Homophobie led charge
- Universal Right Denied: Health access blocked
- 50% Avoidance: Trans French skip care
- Criminal Threat: Possible further sanctions
- Cross-Border Outrage: Spain, global echo
This wasn’t just about one patient it exposed a worldwide truth: trans bodies are still seen as “other” in medicine. From Paris to Pennsylvania, the pattern repeats: refusal, humiliation, delay. But so does the response advocacy, legal action, public shame. The fight for affirming care isn’t American or French; it’s human.
10. The Role of Advocacy and Patient Empowerment
When systems fail, people step up and trans patients and allies have become unstoppable forces. The ACLU took Jesse Hammons’ case to federal court and won, proving a government hospital can’t deny a hysterectomy to a trans man while doing it for cis women. Trey Lowery turned down Highland’s offer to be their “trans spokesperson” and instead built a Twitter platform to expose the truth. Joseph Schneier, post-cancer, now advocates full-time, asking: “If this happened to me with all my resources, what about everyone else?” In France, SOS Homophobie and others buried Dr. Acharian in complaints until the Medical Council acted. Advocacy isn’t optional, it’s oxygen.
Advocacy Wins
- ACLU Victory: Hammons’ surgery secured
- Patient Voices Amplified: Trey’s Twitter, Joseph’s warnings
- Org Mobilization: SOS Homophobie filed fast
- Personal Courage: Sharing despite trauma
- Policy Pressure: Forces training, reforms
- Community Uplift: Empowers silent sufferers
These aren’t just legal wins or viral threads, they’re lifelines. Every story shared, every lawsuit filed, every complaint lodged chips away at the wall. Trans patients aren’t waiting for permission to demand dignity; they’re taking it, one voice, one case, one victory at a time.
11. The Internet’s Unexpected Reactions and Public Discourse
The internet is a double-edged sword, lightning-fast solidarity and a megaphone for hate. When Dr. Acharian’s “real women only” rant hit Google reviews, trans allies flooded in with support; within hours, complaints were filed. Trey and Cori’s stories spread like wildfire on X, sparking outrage and calls for accountability. But then came the backlash: French feminist Marguerite Stern called the suspension “lunacy,” insisting gynecologists only treat “women.” Doctors defended Acharian. Suddenly, a clear case of discrimination became a culture war battlefield. The web doesn’t just amplify truth it distorts it.
Digital Divide
- Rapid Solidarity: Google blasts, instant complaints
- Feminist Backlash: “Lunatics” vs. trans rights
- Polarization Explosion: Biology vs. identity war
- Mobilization Power: Advocacy spreads globally
- Dissent Goes Viral: Opposition gets equal air
- Discourse Mirror: Society’s gender fault lines
Online, justice and ignorance duke it out in real time. Support can topple a biased doctor; misinformation can normalize hate. For trans patients, the internet is both a lifeline and landmine hope and harm in the same scroll.
12. Systemic Barriers in Medical Education and Training
Most doctors practicing today learned nothing about trans health in med school. A decade-old study across U.S. and Canadian schools found the average time spent on LGBTQ+ health? Less than five hours some schools offered zero. That means thousands of providers graduated clueless about hormone therapy, surgical aftercare, or even basic respect like using correct pronouns. No wonder misgendering is routine, pregnancy tests get forced on trans men, and care gets denied. The knowledge gap isn’t incidental, it’s foundational, built into the very training that shapes who gets to hold a stethoscope.
Training Gaps Exposed
- <5 Hours Total: Average LGBTQ+ curriculum
- Zero in Many: No trans health training
- Outdated Workforce: Current docs uninformed
- AAMC Guidelines Late: Only 7 years old
- Slow Integration: Curricula lag behind
- Patient Harm Direct: Fuels errors, bias
The AAMC finally released LGBTQ+ health guidelines in 2018, but updating a generation of doctors takes decades. Until then, trans patients remain guinea pigs in a system still learning the basics. Fixing this isn’t optional, it’s the root of affirming care.
13. The Critical Imperative for Affirming Healthcare
Trans patients aren’t asking for special treatment; they’re demanding the same respect, urgency, and competence every cis patient gets without question. Joseph Schneier had insurance, connections, a nurse friend and still nearly died of ovarian cancer because no one would see him. Trey and Cori walked out of surgery suicidal from disrespect. Jesse Hammons had to sue a hospital to get a routine hysterectomy. These aren’t exceptions; they’re the rule in a system that treats trans bodies as debatable, optional, or “too complicated.” The promise of medicine is healing without prejudice. For trans people, that promise is broken daily.
Path to True Affirmation
- Ironclad Laws: Enforce Section 1557 nationwide
- Mandatory Training: LGBTQ+ core in med school
- Cultural Overhaul: Respect as default, not exception
- Resource Equity: No access gaps by identity
- Moral Mandate: Dignity isn’t negotiable
- Collective Duty: Humanity demands inclusion
This isn’t about politics or ideology, it’s about life. Affirming care saves bodies and minds. Until every trans person can walk into any clinic and be seen, heard, and healed without a fight, healthcare remains a privilege, not a right. The stories in this article aren’t anomalies, they’re indictments. It’s time to make medicine mean care for all, no exceptions, no excuses, no more lives lost to bias.
