In Missouri and Kansas, nearly four out of every ten young people who identify as gay or transgender have seriously considered suicide in the previous year, with 15% attempting it.
According to a new survey conducted by The Trevor Project, 18,000 people aged 13 to 24 from across the country were asked questions about issues such as depression and anxiety, bullying, and access to mental health care.
Overall, the survey discovered that young people in the Midwest had some of the highest rates of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts compared to youth in other parts of the country.
According to the survey, youth in the Midwest were the most likely to report physical threats and harm based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.
“We must be careful to reiterate that these young people are not at a higher risk of suicide than their peers,” said Ronita Nath, vice president of research at The Trevor Project, an organization dedicated to suicide prevention and crisis intervention in the LGBTQ+ community.
“But rather, they’re placed at higher risk because of how they’re mistreated and stigmatized, including through anti-LGBTQ+ politics.”
According to Nath, the survey results, which were conducted in 2024, are intended to provide policymakers, educators, and other organizations with a road map for environmental change.
“By reporting these numbers, we aim to highlight the ongoing risks LGBTQ+ youth face,” Nath claimed, “and reinforce the need for policies and support systems that protect them from these harmful experiences.”
According to the survey results, anxiety and depression are the most common concerns in Missouri and Kansas, where anti-transgender legislation has been a central focus in Republican-dominated legislatures.
69% of Missouri respondents, including three-quarters of those who identify as transgender or nonbinary, reported feeling anxious. In Kansas, 65% reported experiencing anxiety symptoms. In both states, nearly half of young people reported experiencing depression.
‘Impacting everybody’
Jennifer Mahurin, a therapist who treats LGBTQ+ patients in the Kansas City area, has noticed an increase in anxiety since the November election, when President Donald Trump began issuing executive orders limiting transgender rights.
“The messages that are coming into our schools, into our homes, into wherever we are,” Mahurin went on, “are impacting everybody.”
Mahurin sees clients dealing with anxiety in a variety of ways, including doomscrolling on social media, seeking answers, and simply tuning out. Her goal is to help them cope in healthy ways.
“I’m usually checking in with them to see what is working for them, what isn’t working and where do they want to see the change,” according to Mahurin.
Talking to a trained therapist can help with anxiety and depression, but therapy is not always possible. Appointments, particularly with a therapist who accepts insurance, can be difficult to find. In some rural areas, the choices are even more limited.
According to The Trevor Project survey, more than half of Missouri’s young people who sought mental health care did not receive it. Of that group, 47% said they did not seek care because they could not afford it. According to the survey, 46% of young people in Kansas who wanted care did not receive it, with 43% unable to afford it.
Anti-transgender bills
In recent years, anti-transgender legislation has been prevalent in Kansas and, to a greater extent, Missouri.
Last month, Kansas lawmakers passed legislation prohibiting gender-affirming care for people under the age of 18. The ban covers gender-affirming medical care, such as puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy, and surgeries, as well as social transitioning, which critics say could prevent teachers from using a student’s preferred pronouns.
In Missouri, legislators have introduced dozens of anti-transgender bills, including several that would permanently extend a previously enacted ban on gender-affirming care for minors, which is set to expire in 2027. Other bills would extend the state’s ban on transgender children participating in sports teams that reflect their gender identity, which is set to expire in 2027.
Sen. Lincoln Hough, a Greene County Republican, sponsors the bill that is closest to being passed and would repeal the sunset provisions of those laws. He did not respond to a request for comment.
Other bills being considered in Missouri this year include restrictions on what gender people can list on state IDs, bathroom bans that require people to use the bathroom that corresponds to their gender assigned at birth, and a bill that would remove transgender people’s protections against discrimination.
According to state Rep. Wick Thomas, a Democrat representing parts of Jackson County, Missouri Republicans are “trying to remove trans people from existence.”
“I think the next step, once there’s no legal trans person,” commented Thomas, “is to then go after the gay community as well.”
Thomas, the state’s first nonbinary legislator, recognizes the toll that the constant barrage of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation takes on individuals. They have met with dozens of LGBTQ+ young people since arriving in Jefferson City. Telling them there is little they can do to stop the bills, Thomas said, is one of the most difficult things they’ve had to do.
But Thomas will keep trying.
“I want to be sure that I am not only standing up for my district and my constituents,” they told me, “but also for my 16-year-old self who needed adult support and couldn’t find it.”
