Sea Sombar, 18, was one of a handful of people — and the only one from Allegheny County— who was invited to the governor's mansion to tell their story about UPMC ending gender-affirming care.

Sea called the experience important, knowing it could be a part of a conversation that moved the governor forward in action. Advertisement

The roundtable was held by Gov. Josh Shapiro in July, and it looked to hear directly from transgender youth in Pennsylvania and learn about the impact of losing access to gender affirming care.

"I remember him leaning in and being like, 'They asked you to do what?' And I was like, 'They asked me taper off my medication,' and he was like, 'They did?' And I was like, yeah, and he leaned back in his chair and I knew he was going to do something," said Sea Sombar.

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