The following is an excerpt from Medpage Today.
Florida’s medical boards approved a rule on Friday banning gender-affirming medications and surgery for youth with gender dysphoria who aren’t already being treated.
The Florida Board of Medicine voted to adopt a proposed standard of care for new patients under age 18 with gender dysphoria, which will prohibit both gender-affirming surgeries and medications including puberty blockers and hormone therapies.
The rule will not apply to transgender and gender-diverse youth who are already receiving treatment.
The state’s Board of Osteopathic Medicine also voted to restrict use of gender-affirming care for minors on Friday, but it included an exception for kids enrolled in clinical trials, according to ABC News.
The rule will now go through a weeks-long approval process that will include further public comment. Once the rules are adopted, physicians who don’t adhere to them will risk losing their medical licenses.
The Endocrine Society called the new standard of care “anti-science” and “blatantly discriminatory,” adding that it “contradicts medical evidence followed by the Endocrine Society, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, the Pediatric Endocrine Society and other mainstream medical organizations.”
During the 2022 legislative session, at least 20 states have proposed bills that restrict healthcare for transgender youth, according to non-profit organization Freedom for All Americans.
Florida is one of several states that have restricted gender-affirming care for minors.
Arkansas and Alabama passed laws banning such care for minors, and Texas said it would investigate parents of transgender children seeking such care.
However, Florida is the first to do so via medical board action.
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