On December 28, 2014, a 17 year-old transgender teenager named Leelah Alcorn, born with the name Joshua, committed suicide. She was struck by a tractor-trailer on a busy freeway in Kings Mills, Ohio. Shortly after her death, a queued suicide note was posted on social media outlet Tumblr. In her suicide note, Alcorn accused her conservative Christian parents of psychological abuse, and blamed them for not accepting her gender identity by sending her to homosexual-to-heterosexual conversion therapy.

In the months before her death, Leelah Alcorn reached out to fellow members of the LGBT community on social media websites, such as Reddit, detailing the homophobia that she endured in her household.  Alcorn asked if what occurred in her household could legally be considered child abuse. She claimed that at the age of 14, she came out to her parents, and was immediately rejected and shunned. Alcorn claimed that she was never physically abused by her parents, but she was frequently told that she “would never be a real girl,” and that she had been told “God is going to send you straight to hell.” Incidents like Leelah’s have gotten people to start thinking about the ethical treatment of transgender youth in society.

In the days preceding Alcorn’s death, a petition appeared on Change.org titled “Leelah’s Law – Ending Transgender Conversion Therapy.” The law seeks to make it illegal for parents to send LGBT teens to anti-gay conversion therapy. Within two days, the petition received over 240,000 signatures. Transgender rights activists are hoping that this law can be a stepping-stone for acceptance and tolerance of LGBT youth around the U.S.

“When I first learned of Leelah Alcorn’s death, I was very sad. Any situation in which a teen’s life is cut short is tragic, but when it’s preventable, it’s even worse,” GSA adviser Mrs. Marlo Spritzer said. “While I believe in the value of many kinds of therapy, conversion therapy can be quite harmful in a mental and emotional sense, and does not recognize the diversity among individuals. I really feel for what Leelah and others go through in being forced to be someone they are not.”

The Southern Lehigh, GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) provides a safe place for transgender teens, along with those who identify as gay, lesbian, and bisexual, to be themselves without being judged.

Any student can take steps to support transgender peers.

“Take the time to hear or read the story of what a transgender individual has felt or endured for a lifetime before coming to terms with the next step.  This is not a decision that is made lightly,” Mrs. Spritzer said.  “Next, be willing to say to your friend or peer, ‘hey, I can’t pretend to know exactly what you are going through, but I accept you for who you are no matter what.’ We are all very different from each other, but the one thing we have in common is wanting to be accepted for who we really are.”

Her advice to transgender teens can be applied to any student.

“High school can be such a weird time, and every teenager dreams of the day he or she moves out away from home and no longer has to follow rules made by parents,” Mrs. Spritzer said. “Just hang in there, and as you mature and you gain independence, you really will find that it gets better, and you can be who you were always meant to be. Your friends and family who love you will accept you in time.”