Your Right to Help Your Child Access Gender-Affirming Care

I Helped My Transgender Child Access Gender-Affirming Care.

How Will This Impact Custody in Massachusetts Family and Probate Court?

Good news! Parents who support their transgender children by helping them access gender-affirming care (“GAC”) are well-protected under Massachusetts law, and it is likely that the Court will find you have acted in your child’s best interests. 

Massachusetts recently passed a law that protects supportive parents helping their transgender children seek and access GAC. Let’s look at both the broad landscape of federal laws impacting transgender children accessing GAC, and the state-specific protections in Massachusetts that shield transgender children and their supportive parents from the state-sponsored transphobia.

The population most at-risk of losing access to GAC is unemancipated minors, generally meaning youth under the age of 18. In 2025, the Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Skrmetti that states are allowed to pass total bans on GAC for children under the age of 18. Since 2025, over half of U.S. states have passed total bans on GAC for minors, with civil and criminal penalties for adults that help these children access the care they need. Less than one-third of U.S. states have passed laws protecting access to GAC for minors. The remaining states have no laws on the books concerning GAC for minors. Fortunately, Massachusetts has some of the most robust legal protections for transgender children in the country.

Under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 12, § 11I½, access to GAC is a protected right for all citizens of Massachusetts. The law explicitly states that “interference with this right… is against the public policy of the Commonwealth.” The law forbids any state agencies or state employees from enforcing, or assisting another state in enforcing, any laws banning GAC. 

For example, Florida Statute § 456.52(3) says that hormone replacement therapy (commonly known as “HRT,” and includes hormones like testosterone or estradiol) can only be prescribed by a physician. But in Massachusetts, the act of prescribing HRT is not limited to physicians. It can be prescribed by a nurse practitioner, a physician’s assistant, an endocrinologist, or another licensed healthcare practitioner. If a nurse practitioner in Massachusetts prescribes a transgender man testosterone, the Florida law banning that practice cannot be used to prosecute the nurse practitioner that prescribed the testosterone, or the transgender man that received the care. Nor can any Massachusetts state agencies or employees assist the state of Florida in attempting to prosecute the case.

Though it may seem far-fetched that a person would try to use Florida state laws to punish a person in Massachusetts, child custody cases often cross state lines. Custody negotiations can be complicated, and a parent that is not supportive of their child’s transition may seek to use the restrictive laws of one state as a cudgel against another parent in the custody negotiation. Luckily, the Massachusetts legislature sought to address this issue by creating protections for the supportive parents of transgender children.

In 2025, the legislature passed Massachusetts General Law chapter 208, § 56. This law says, “No court in the commonwealth shall admit or consider a finding of abuse, neglect or maltreatment based on a parent or guardian allowing their child to receive or seek gender-affirming health care services.” Specifically, the law protects the parents of transgender children in four ways:

1. The laws of a state other than Massachusetts that authorize a child to be removed from the care of a parent because the parent allowed their child to receive GAC cannot be used to alter custody, parenting time, or visitation in any Massachusetts courts. M.G.L. ch. 208, § 56(a).

2. The laws of a state other than Massachusetts cannot be used to prove that a parent neglected, abused, or maltreated a child just because they assisted or allowed their child to access GAC. M.G.L. ch. 208, § 56(b).

3. A parent cannot be found guilty of abuse, neglect, or maltreatment in Massachusetts simply because the parent helped their child to receive GAC. M.G.L. ch. 208, § 56(b).

4. When considering interstate custody agreements for transgender children, the Massachusetts Family and Probate Court shall consider the likely disruption or discontinuation of GAC if the other state has laws that prohibit children from receiving GAC or penalize parents who allow their child to receive GAC. M.G.L. ch. 208, § 56(c). 

Simply put, if you are negotiating a custody agreement through the Massachusetts Family and Probate Court, it is against the law for you to be penalized for helping your child access gender-affirming care. If you wish to remain in Massachusetts and your co-parent wishes to move to Florida and bring your transgender child with them, the court will consider the fact that your transgender child may lose access to gender-affirming care by moving to Florida. 

If you have further questions, Brick Legal, PLLC is here to help. Schedule a free, 45-minute consultation through the “Meet With Us” tab. Here at Brick Legal, we believe all transgender people have the right to live happily in a society that embraces and celebrates them as they are. The rights of transgender people are under attack. We intend to stand up and fight back.

Consensual Non-Monogamy (CNM) 101

I founded Brick Legal, PLLC to serve non-traditional families like mine. Studies show that non-monogamous families are now even more common than queer families. As a loud and proud queer & polyamorous attorney, I believe it is my responsibility to be an ambassador for my communities. The blog below is designed to educate folks on the basics of consensual non-monogamy (CNM) and introduce the legal options available to CNM families in Massachusetts.

Clear definitions are key to a successful conversation, so we will begin with answering a few questions and establishing some common terms used by the CNM community and by the queer community. 

→What does “polyamory” even mean? Is it the same as polygamy?

This is a common misconception! Polygamy historically refers only to marriage, and more specifically it typically denotes a man who has marriages to multiple women. Since  Reynolds v. United States, 98 U.S. 145 (1879), the U.S. has widely prohibited legal marriages between more than two people. Polyamory, by contrast, uses Latin and Greek root words to describe “many love,” or a partnership with more than two people. Unlike polygamy, polyamory does not denote marriage. See the definitions below for more detail. 

ENM/CNM: ENM stands for “ethical non-monogamy” and CNM stands for “consensual non-monogamy.” Both of these terms, used interchangeably in the community, describe a relationship style where all participants informedly and enthusiastically consent to a relationship with more than one partner. 

Polyamory: a subset of ENM or CNM. Polyamory is to CNM as a square is to a rectangle: all polyamorous relationships are consensually non-monogamous, but the reverse is not true. Polyamory is a distinct type of consensually non-monogamous relationship where people typically commit to and engage in long-term romantic love and intimacy with multiple partners.

Polycule: the CNM version of “couple.” Polycule describes the relationship unit, comprising all partners and metamours (defined below). To illustrate: Aspen is dating Birch and Cherry. Aspen, Birch, and Cherry are all members of the same polycule. 

Metamour (or “meta” for short): a gender-neutral version of “girlfriend-in-law.” To illustrate: Aspen and Birch are ethically non-monogamous. Aspen is dating Birch, and Aspen is also dating Cherry. Birch and Cherry do not date, but they are members of the same polycule. Because they have a partner in common, Birch and Cherry are metamours. 

Hinge: the partner that two metamours have in common. Using our Tree Family example: Birch is dating Aspen. Cherry is also dating Aspen. Birch and Cherry are metamours, and Aspen is their hinge. 

→How prevalent is this lifestyle anyway?

Studies show that, for Americans, practicing polyamory is even more common than being queer. One study found that 1 out of 6 people (16.8%) desire to engage in polyamory, and at least 1 out of 9 people (10.7%) have engaged in polyamory at some point during their life. Research shows that roughly 1 in 14 people (7.1%) in the United States identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or something other than heterosexual. 

→What is that long acronym y’all use?

LGBTIAQ2S+ stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Asexual, Queer/Questioning, Two Spirit, plus. The plus is a sort-of catch-all which acknowledges the fluidity of these identities and the ineptitude of the acronym to encompass all queer identities. 

→Why do you keep saying “queer”? Isn’t that offensive?

Folks in the queer community have reclaimed the word “queer,” which used to be exclusively a slur lobbed against us, as the shorter catch-all moniker.  We have all experienced oppression for our non-traditional lifestyles and identities, and we recognize that standing united under a broad label is a strong expression of our solidarity with each other. “Queer” denotes anyone who does not conform to society’s rigid gender, sexuality, and relationship norms. 

Brick Legal, PLLC and Protecting Your Rights in a Non-traditional Relationship 

Every person has the right to choose the relationship and family structure that is right for them. When weighing your options, it is crucial to remember that there are rights and benefits afforded to those in a legal marriage that are not guaranteed to those in other relationship scenarios, such as domestic partnerships or other romantic or platonic arrangements. Experts strongly encourage individuals in non-traditional relationships or families to research their legal options. Cohabitation agreements, co-ownership agreements, premarital or marital agreements, support agreements, and estate planning documents can be used to spell out your rights in a relationship. 

Whether your family is consensually non-monogamous or queer, both of these communities find solidarity in being non-traditional. The law does not always contemplate the specific issues faced by non-traditional families, such as support requirements for a non-marital partner–but at Brick Legal, PLLC, understanding and addressing these nuances is our forte. If your non-traditional family needs an empathetic attorney with a passion for providing support, please reach out.

If you’d like to see a blog post discussing more esoteric polyamorous terms (such as kitchen table polyamory, parallel poly, relationship anarchy and more), please email me at marie@brick-legal.com