MILWAUKEE – A 16-year-old transgender patient in Wisconsin says recent decisions by some major Wisconsin hospital systems left him scrambling to find continued gender-affirming care after they stopped providing services to minors.
"I see what's going on with the trans community, and it's like, it's just hurts me, because it's like, we just want to live. Okay, and we just want to be accepted,” Ambrose Bankes said.
Bankes has felt like he was born into the wrong body for as long as he can remember. For years, he lived in isolation, feeling like a stranger to himself.
"I've been trans ever since I can remember," Bankes said. "I was just like, I just didn't like myself at all. I couldn't even stand, like, look at myself. I couldn't even stand to, like, even be in the shower, because I just hated it."
Watch: Transgender teen finds new care after major Wisconsin hospital systems stop gender-affirming treatment for minors
That started to change after he found a support system and made the decision to pursue hormone replacement therapy.
"I had talked about it with a lot of people around me, because I was like, if I was going to go into it. One, I need to be sure about myself. And two, I need to be like, make sure that I was in a safe environment," Bankes said.
After years of waiting and months of counseling, Bankes says he started hormone replacement therapy at age 15 in January 2025 through Froedtert Inclusion Clinic.
"I am feeling a lot better. I am feeling a lot more confident, a lot more like, happy with myself," Bankes said.
Just as this confidence kicked in, he says his care was suddenly at risk.
"I was just terrified because it was like I would lose. Everything that I had, like, worked towards. So, I'd lose myself," Bankes said.
Last week, Children's Wisconsin and UW Health announced they will no longer provide gender-affirming care to patients under 18 because of recent federal actions.
Froedtert Inclusion Clinic did not respond to requests for comment about whether they followed suit, but Bankes says they have stopped providing his care as well.
He had to find a new provider, Dr. Anna Mirer, who runs a private practice. Unlike large hospital systems that rely on federal funding, she says she can continue offering the care he needs.
"By the time a young person comes to my office, they've been sure of their gender identity for quite a long time. I'm not the first stop on anybody's list," Mirer said.
She says that gender-affirming care is a lengthy process focused on a patient's well-being.
"These are very complex issues, but some things really are black and white, and forcing children to de-transition without any medical supervision is wrong," Mirer said.
With her care, Bankes is able to continue his medications and continue being himself.
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