The Florida Board of Medicine voted to ban gender-affirming care for transgender and non-binary minors in Florida.
Under the new rule, which has not yet taken effect, medical professionals providing gender-affirming hormone treatment to minors in the state could lose their medical licenses and be fined.
Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has called gender-affirming care "an example of woke ideology infecting medical practice."
- DeSantis-appointed Florida surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, has called gender-affirming care "highly experimental," "risky," and "unproven."
- According to the Tampa Bay Times, several members of the Florida Board of Medicine who were appointed by DeSantis had previously contributed to his political campaigns or his political action committee.
- LGBTQ+ rights advocates said that the ban could lead families with transgender children to leave the state.
- Florida is one of 21 states that have passed or are considering passing laws to ban or limit access to gender-affirming care.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), gender-affirming care entails psychological, behavioral, and medical interventions aimed at "support[ing] and affirm[ing] an individual's gender identity."
- The medical treatment that can be provided for minors is typically hormonal therapy. Surgery on a minor's chest, genitalia, or Adam's Apple is extremely rare.
- Dr. Kristin Dayton, who heads the Youth Gender Program at the University of Florida, countered claims that gender-affirming care is unproven or dangerous by citing research showing that gender-affirming care can reduce rates of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, disordered eating, and substance abuse among transgender youth.
