Our son is thriving. That's why we went to Trenton.

By Vidhi Goel and Ankur Gandhi

We’re not professional advocates or policy experts.

We’re a couple who met more than twenty years ago, built a life in central New Jersey, and are raising two children. Like so many parents, we’ve spent weekends cheering from the sidelines at soccer games, applauding marching band competitions, and attending school plays.

We never imagined we would testify before the New Jersey Legislature, especially to defend the right to healthcare.

Yet, this spring, we found ourselves speaking before the New Jersey Senate and Assembly Health Committees in support of New Jersey’s Healthcare Shield Law.

Because our family’s experience has become part of a much larger conversation about who gets to make deeply personal healthcare decisions.

Our son is transgender, but that is only one part of who he is.

He is also a teenager who loves marching band and theater, earns strong grades, and brings joy to the people around him.

He is thriving because he is seen for who he is. Because we found compassionate doctors who provided evidence-based care for him. Because New Jersey protected access to that care. Because our entire family embraced him with unconditional love.

One memory captures what that support has meant. Not long after our son came out, we attended an Indian multi-day, multi-generational family wedding. Our son performed a dance alongside his cousins in a red-and-gold sherwani, the traditional men’s outfit he had always wanted to wear. His grandparents cheered, his aunts and uncles celebrated him, and his cousins welcomed him exactly as he was.

That moment represented more than a beautiful family celebration. It showed what becomes possible when a child receives the healthcare they need and the love they deserve.

When children are affirmed, they get to focus on being kids: Building friendships, performing in school musicals, and dreaming about the future. That is what every parent wants for their child.

Those experiences are why we traveled to Trenton to testify in support of the Healthcare Shield Law.

We wanted lawmakers to hear from parents whose lives have been shaped by access to gender-affirming healthcare and to understand that behind every policy debate are real families making thoughtful decisions with trusted healthcare providers.

Healthcare shield laws exist because personal healthcare decisions are increasingly under threat from misinformed politicians making choices for people they’ve never met. Across the country, physicians providing gender-affirming care and reproductive healthcare have faced legal challenges from politicians seeking to restrict access beyond their own borders. When providers fear legal consequences, families can lose access, not because the care is unavailable, but because the risks of providing it become greater.

New Jersey’s Healthcare Shield Law helps protect patients, families, and healthcare providers by ensuring that lawful, evidence-based care remains available to people who need it.

It recognizes that decisions about healthcare belong with patients, families, and medical professionals.

When we testified, we shared something that felt simple but is often missing from political debates: The decisions about our son’s healthcare were made around our kitchen table and in our doctors’ offices with careful thought, medical expertise, and love. Those conversations belonged to our family and our healthcare team, and they should remain that way for every family.

We also testified for our daughter. She has watched her brother become fully himself, and she has watched her parents decide that speaking publicly was worth the vulnerability. She deserves a future where she can make personal healthcare decisions with her doctors, just as her brother deserves continued access to the care that has helped him flourish.

Although our testimony focused on New Jersey, the message extends beyond our state. Across the country, families are sharing their stories, healthcare providers are standing by their patients, and communities are working toward a future where every young person has the opportunity to thrive.

Our family never expected to become advocates. We simply discovered that when something fundamental to your child’s well-being is at stake, showing up becomes an act of love.

We often think back to that wedding and to our son dancing with complete confidence, surrounded by grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles who celebrated him exactly as he is. That is the future we’re fighting for, not only for our son and our daughter, but for every family hoping their child can grow up knowing they are loved and supported.

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If our story resonates with you, we hope you’ll become part of this effort. Join the Human Rights Campaign’s Parents for Transgender Equality Network (PTEN) to connect with families and advocates across the country. Subscribe to HRC’s Substack to stay informed about legislation affecting transgender youth, including efforts like New Jersey’s Healthcare Shield Law, and use your voice to support similar protections in your own community. Sharing your story, contacting elected officials, or standing alongside another family can all help create a future where young people can grow up healthy, safe, and free to become who they are.

Vidhi Goel and Ankur Gandhi are parents, advocates, and residents of New Jersey. They are members of the Human Rights Campaign’s Parents for Transgender Equality Council (PTEC) and founding board members of OutFront Metuchen, an LGBTQ+ community advocacy organization serving central New Jersey.