TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Department of Health has issued guidance regarding gender-affirming care for transgender children and teens.
The state health department says in light of what it says is a lack of "conclusive evidence, and the potential for long-term, irreversible effects" of hormonal treatments for transgender youth, it has issued the following guidance:
- Social gender transition should not be a treatment option for children or adolescents.
- Anyone under 18 should not be prescribed puberty blockers or hormone therapy.
- Gender reassignment surgery should not be a treatment option for children or adolescents.
- Based on the currently available evidence, "encouraging mastectomy, ovariectomy, uterine extirpation, penile disablement, tracheal shave, the prescription of hormones which are out of line with the genetic make-up of the child, or puberty blockers, are all clinical practices which run an unacceptably high risk of doing harm."
- Children and adolescents should be provided social support by peers and family and seek counseling from a licensed provider.
In March, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued its own guidance for gender-affirming care, stating it "stands with transgender and gender-nonconforming youth and their families—and the significant majority of expert medical associations—in unequivocally stating that gender-affirming care for minors, when medically appropriate and necessary, improves their physical and mental health."
Additionally, HHS says attempts to "restrict, challenge or falsely characterize this potentially lifesaving care as abuse is dangerous."
"The federal government's medical establishment releasing guidance failing at the most basic level of academic rigor shows that this was never about health care," State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo said in a statement. "It was about injecting political ideology into the health of our children.
"Children experiencing gender dysphoria should be supported by family and seek counseling, not pushed into an irreversible decision before they reach 18."
Equality Florida issued a statement soon after the new guidance was released, saying, in part, that it "demonizes life-saving, medically-necessary care."
"And, once again, [Gov. Ron] DeSantis wants the government to intrude into doctors’ offices to pander to extremists in service to his political ambitions. Parents should be deciding, in partnership with their child’s doctor, based on science, not politics, what is best for their children," the statement reads.
"Governor DeSantis’ runaway agenda of banning books, muzzling teachers, censoring history, and pushing government control is putting a handful of extremists in charge of every aspect of the lives of Floridians and is making the state less safe for LGBTQ families, especially transgender children."