Privacy fears grow as Tennessee advances bill that would track gender-affirming care data
Privacy fears grow as Tennessee advances bill that would track gender-affirming care data
Publish Date: 2026-03-27 21:14:00
Source Domain: newschannel9.com
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A Tennessee bill that would track data related to gender-affirming care is one step closer to passage despite protests that broke out in the state capitol earlier this week.
The area outside the House chamber was packed Thursday morning, with demonstrators chanting and holding signs questioning how patient information would be handled under the legislation.
Photo via the Tennessee Equality Project
The bill’s sponsor claims the data collection would be done without risk to the patient.
But a transgender woman and a doctor from Chattanooga say there are concerns that go beyond patient privacy.
“As a kid, I thought ‘you’re never going to get to be the person that you feel like inside.'”
Kyelani Sayers says she’s been a part of the LGBTQIA plus community from a young age, officially transitioning in 2017.
“I decided, you know, I’m Kyelani, and I’m she/her, and this is who I am, and I want the world to know,” Sayers says.
Sayers says she’s worried about what comes next for the transgender community as the Tennessee General Assembly considers a bill requiring clinics to report data on gender affirming care in the state.
“It’s really terrifying because this is sensitive information. Our transitions are something that’s supposed to be very private,” Sayers says.
Sayers says receiving hormone replacement therapy here in Chattanooga was crucial in her gender affirming care.
But lawmakers who support this new legislation argue that these kinds of treatments often lead to regret.
“I’ve met with plenty of people who wish that they could go back and say, ‘You know what? I made a mistake when I was younger. I want to undo what I’ve done,'” Rep. Jeremy Faison.
Bill sponsor Representative Jeremy Faison argues that under this legislation, all patient data that’s transferred would not include identifying factors.
A section of the bill references what lawmakers call a “right to public transparency.”
Under the proposal, clinics would be required to report…
