Florida Medical Boards Draw Line in the Sand on Transgender Procedures
The use of permanent transgender medical procedures will now be banned in Florida.
Two state medical boards have voted to bar the use of puberty blockers, hormone treatments and gender reassignment surgeries for minors.
Florida’s Board of Medicine and Board of Osteopathic Medicine passed two different rules banning the procedures on Friday, according to the Washington Examiner.
The Board of Osteopathic Medicine’s rule has an exception for individuals already enrolled in a Food and Drug Administration Institutional Review Board-approved clinical trial at an affiliated university center.
Doctors who violate the board rules face the risk of losing their medical licenses, according to the New York Times.
The Board of Medicine struck the clinical trial exception from their rule before voting 6-3 to ban the procedures, a development that creates separate rules for doctors and osteopathic doctors in the state.
Florida is the first state to enact a ban on transgender procedures on minors through state medical boards.
Previous attempts to halt the procedures in the Florida legislature stalled, according to the New York Times.
In a statement, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo hailed the state boards for establishing a standard of care that would protect children from the procedures.
…despite facing tremendous pressure to permit these risky & unproven treatments. Children deserve to learn how to navigate this world without harmful pressure. Florida will continue to fight for kids to be kids. (2/2)
— Joseph A. Ladapo, MD, PhD (@FLSurgeonGen) November 4, 2022
Surgeries that will be forbidden for minors under state medical regulations will include cosmetic mastectomies and castrations.
Many individuals subjected to life-altering and permanent surgeries have voiced their objection to their use on minors, who cannot consent to the implications of such procedures.
Hormone treatment can also have permanent health implications for those who undergo it.
A California woman who began receiving hormone treatment as a minor has described the lasting consequences on her health.
Other states have begun measures to crack down on the use of permanent transgender procedures on children.
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Service designated the use of trans procedures on children as a form of child abuse under a 2021 determination. This ruling allows the state agency to strip parents of custody of their children.
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