Florida gender dysphoria treatment ban goes into effect Thursday

TALLAHASSE, Florida — Florida’s controversial gender-verified health care ban goes into effect Thursday.

It’s a worrying day for the transgender youth community in the Sunshine State as the ban makes many of them feel like they’ve been chosen.

But several Republican lawmakers have said they are simply trying to protect children.

“They’re at war with the kids, and we’re going to stand up for the kids,” said Rep. Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay. “Boys are boys and girls are girls. We’re not going to subscribe to this made-up nonsense they made up. their.”

With this ban, doctors will no longer be allowed to prescribe puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgery to treat new patients under the age of 18 with gender dysphoria.

Gender dysphoria is defined by the federal government as “a significant disorder that a person may experience when the sex or gender assigned at birth does not match their personality.”

For those patients who have already been prescribed these medications, they will be accepted and allowed to continue treatment.

Physicians who violate the new rule risk being disciplined by the state medical board, which can impose fines and revoke licenses.

Additional anti-transgender law has been filed in Florida, including a ban that stops telehealth providers from prescribing treatment for adults and ends public insurance for treatment.

This bill also allows a parent who does not support care to transition their child to contest the custody agreement with the parent who does.

“I have a message for any of the legislators considering these bills. I know that you do not understand these questions. I know that you doubt things. We’d love to talk to someone to really come up with smart decisions,” said Michael Riordan of the Compass LGBTQ+ Community Center in Palm Beach County.

According to a June 2022 Williams Institute report, approximately 16,000 Florida teens, or approximately 1.32% of teens ages 13 to 17, identify as transgender.