The life and death of May Pollard, 16, provides a window into the tragic effect that legislation and political rhetoric have had on trans p
Headline: Idaho pushed anti-trans laws for years. Then a teen died.
Subheader: The life and death of May Pollard, 16, provides a window into the tragic effect that legislation and political rhetoric have had on trans people in America.
Publisher: NBC News
Date published: 18 July 2026
Selected text from article:
âThere is a huge amount of animosity, every single day, thrown at trans kids,â Joseph Pollard replied, voice rising. âThe whole f-----g country. The whole f-----g administration, every single f-----g day.â
His raw fury came from the years of pain he and Elyse watched May endure since she came out as a transgender girl. She avoided eating or drinking at school for fear that she would need to go to the bathroom â and she panicked when she had to use the one for boys. She talked of hurting herself if she couldnât start taking estrogen. She hated how state laws highlighted the only way she was different when she longed to fit in.
It was more than what any kid should have to go through.
âYou worry about that hatred being internalized, and thatâs what happened to my kid,â Elyse [Thorpe] told NBC News. âIt got inside.â
[...]
May had been aware of what was happening. She wrote poetry that she shared with friends about not fitting in and self-harm. One of her favorite songs, by the noise pop band Stomach Book, was about trans identity and oppression. She wanted to be a teenage girl, not an activist, playing video games with her friends and exchanging silly messages about cats and music.
But she also felt that what she â and other trans kids â experienced was unfair.
Last summer, she joined a lawsuit under the pseudonym Jane Doe to challenge a state law that banned trans students in K-12 schools from using bathrooms or locker rooms aligning with their gender identities. The law had forced her to use gender-neutral bathrooms at school, effectively outing her.
âI donât want people to know I am transgender without my consent â even students who might be friendly,â May said in a case filing last fall. âI find being forced to use a separate restroom ostracizing, and I feel like Iâm being treated like this other kind of thing.â
[...]
May had been one of only two remaining plaintiffs in the lawsuit, because students can no longer participate once they graduate. The other anonymous plaintiff in the suit graduated in the spring.
As a result, Mayâs lawyers moved to dismiss the case in May.
Idaho Attorney General RaĂșl Labrador declared victory in a press release.
âFrom the district court to the Ninth Circuit, we defended Idahoâs right to protect studentsâ privacy in bathrooms and locker rooms,â Labrador said. âIdaho families can be confident that this law is fully in effect and will remain so.â
The press release didnât acknowledge Mayâs death.
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