May Pollard, 16, who had challenged Idaho's 2023 school bathroom law as "Jane Doe," died by suicide in January. Her family says the state's expanding anti-trans policies — including restricted restroom access and limits on in-state gender-affirming care — contributed to her isolation. The federal lawsuit was dismissed after her death, while Idaho has continued to pass restrictive measures, some of which have been temporarily blocked by federal courts.
Family Says Idaho’s Anti-Trans Laws Isolated Teen Who Challenged Bathroom Policy Before Her Death
idaho state capitol
May Pollard, a 16-year-old transgender student who sued Idaho over its 2023 school bathroom law under the pseudonym "Jane Doe," died by suicide in January. Her family tells NBC News they believe the steady expansion of anti-transgender policies in Idaho contributed to her growing isolation — from limited restroom access at school to having to leave the state for gender-affirming medical care.
Background
Pollard was named in a federal lawsuit challenging the Idaho law that requires public schools to separate bathrooms, locker rooms and overnight accommodations based on students' sex assigned at birth. She described the alternatives offered at school — using the nurse's office restroom or a facility in another building — as alienating in an affidavit filed with the lawsuit.
"There is a huge amount of animosity, every single day, thrown at trans kids," Joseph Pollard told a police detective after his daughter's death, according to NBC News. "The whole f***ing country. The whole f***ing administration, every single f***ing day."
Care And Court Developments
Pollard's parents say she told them in ninth grade that she had suicidal thoughts and needed to transition. After months on a waiting list and with a pediatrician's referral, the family traveled to Oregon so she could receive gender-affirming care that was not available in Idaho.
The federal lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed after Pollard's death and after the other student in the case graduated. Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador issued a news release marking the dismissal that did not mention Pollard's death; his office later called her passing a "personal tragedy" and said it does not comment on private circumstances of people involved in litigation, according to local reporting.
Broader Context In Idaho
Pollard's story has unfolded as Idaho has become a leading state for restrictive transgender legislation. Since her death, the state has continued to expand laws targeting transgender people, including legislation that would have criminalized transgender people for using restrooms or changing facilities that match their gender identity in many public and private spaces. That criminal-restroom law was blocked by a federal judge before it could take effect, who found it was likely unconstitutional. Idaho also enforces bans on gender-affirming medical care for minors and restrictions barring transgender girls and women from participating in girls' and women's sports.
Resources
If you or someone you know needs immediate mental-health support, help is available: call, text or chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or visit 988lifeline.org for free, confidential 24/7 services. Trans Lifeline, for transgender and gender-nonconforming people, can be reached at (877) 565-8860. The Trevor Project Lifeline for LGBTQ+ youth (24 and younger) is available at (866) 488-7386, with chat at TheTrevorProject.org/Help or by texting START to 678678.
Reporting in this account drew from NBC News, the Idaho Statesman and the Idaho Capital Sun.
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