The Florida Department of Health on Wednesday released guidance that said treatment such as puberty-blocking medication and hormone therapy should not be used for transgender youths, clashing with federal officials over the issue.
The guidance came amid debates in other states about such treatment and is the latest move by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration and Republican leaders to target transgender issues. As an example, DeSantis last month signed a controversial law that restricts instruction about gender identity and sexual orientation in public schools.
A news release from the Department of Health said the guidance addresses treatment of gender dysphoria, which the federal government defines as clinically “significant distress that a person may feel when sex or gender assigned at birth is not the same as their identity.”
The state news release said “current evidence does not support the use of puberty blockers, hormone treatments or surgical procedures for children and adolescents.” Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo also issued a statement blasting federal directives that backed treatment for transgender youths.
“It was about injecting political ideology into the health of our children,” Ladapo said. “Children experiencing gender dysphoria should be supported by family and seek counseling, not pushed into an irreversible decision before they reach 18.”
But the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services last month issued guidance that said its Office for Civil Rights “will continue working to ensure that transgender and gender nonconforming youth are able to access health care free from the burden of discrimination.”
“The Department of Health & Human Services 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,” the federal agency’s statement said. “Attempts to restrict, challenge or falsely characterize this potentially lifesaving care as abuse is dangerous. Such attempts block parents from making critical health care decisions for their children, create a chilling effect on health care providers who are necessary to provide care for these youth, and ultimately negatively impact the health and well-being of transgender and gender nonconforming youth.”
Among medical groups that have supported such treatment are the American Academy of Pediatrics.
“AAP (the academy) policy states that youths who identify as transgender should have access to comprehensive, gender-affirming and developmentally appropriate health care that is provided in a safe and inclusive clinical space in close consultation with parents,” said a post this month on the academy’s website.
Issues about treatment of transgender youths have led to fights in states such as Alabama and Texas. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey this month signed a measure that would make it a crime to provide treatment such as puberty-blocking medication and hormone-replacement therapy. The measure quickly drew a legal challenge.
The Florida Department of Health guidance said, in part, that people under age 18 “should not be prescribed puberty blockers or hormone therapy” and that gender “reassignment surgery should not be a treatment option for children or adolescents.” It also said that “social gender transition should not be a treatment option for children or adolescents.”
“The department crafted this guidance using published and peer-reviewed data that calls into question the motives of the federal HHS,” the accompanying news release said. “Guidance of this magnitude requires a full, diligent understanding of the scientific evidence.”
But the LGBTQ-advocacy group Equality Florida issued a statement that said the DeSantis administration “seeks to replace science and the safety of young people with political propaganda.”
“The Florida Department of Health has released non-binding guidance opposing science-backed health care resources for parents of transgender children,” the Equality Florida statement said. “This guidance demonizes life-saving, medically necessary care and asserts that the government, not parents, knows best when it comes to health care for our children. And, once again, DeSantis wants the government to intrude into doctors’ offices to pander to extremists in service to his political ambitions.”
–Jim Saunders, News Service of Florida
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Mark says
Giving a confused mentally ill child that can have bad and irreversible consequences is not a good decision. Why are people intent on screwing with children? Why is this an issue now when it never was before? How many children were on the playground before 2000 that self identified as other than a boy or girl? Does this new wokism advance our society in anyway? This BS is doing nothing more than confusing people, dividing people, and creating a seriously dysphoric society.
R. S. says
Good criticism of DeSantis. Is this guy medically or psychologically trained? So, he really is, to use your technical terminology, “screwing with children.”
Laurel says
Dear Mark: The reason it did not come up “before” is that it was so unacceptable that people hid their true selves. As embryos, we all start out as females and have tails. As hormones kick in, we change. Some of us gals are tomboys, some girly girls, some gay, some straight and some nonbinary. It’s not complicated when you realize how many things are involved in making us as we are. The same for boys. Some are overly butch, some effeminate, some straight, some gay and some somewhere in between. That’s the point of the rainbow flag, it’s an actual spectrum. This has absolutely nothing to do with mental illness or confusion. It is not bs, it’s actually real, and there is nothing new about it, it’s been around since the beginning of human kind.
That being said, Republicans are using this to make their base feel better, at the horrific, cruel expense of others. They need to stop trying to control women’s vaginas, stop controlling people’s genders, stop controlling people’s private lives, stop controlling people’s religions and mind their own GD business. They are becoming as scary as George Orwell’s “1984.” Get out of our lives, and start fixing the infrastructure and real governmental issues.
Steve says
Excellent Post Thank You
Steve says
At some point DUHSantis gets to the tipping point, the point of no return where his self induced Political kiss of death will be by his own hand and frankly his own fault. We will all
be the better for it.
Mark says
Just waiting for his skeletons to come out of the closet. Someone has something on this dweeb and they’re just waiting for the right moment.
Steve says
Timing is everything SEE McCarthy
Deborah Coffey says
“The department crafted this guidance using published and peer-reviewed data that calls into question the motives of the federal HHS,”…. The MOTIVES of the federal HHS? HHS is now a “groomer,” too? DeSantis is cruel, vindictive, completely authoritarian and many of his moves are unconstitutional. Vote. Him. Out.
Kathleen Brady says
I received this email today and my overall impression was that it was written in a way to give the impression that this was in alignment with federal guidelines. No I thought it was tremendously odd that I received this unsolicited email. I am a medical professional but I’ve also consulted the Florida Health care website for Covid related information. I am curious as to who else received the email, was it sent to the general public?
marlee says
Just vote the guy out.
He has turned Fl into a joke.
Skibum says
You need no more evidence to show just how disingenuous and hypocritical the gov and his GOP brown nosers are than this. After so many press conferences and Fox nuse appearances yelling for parental choice and how horrible it is for elected and governmental officials to try to have decision making authority for children against the wishes of parents themselves, the cartoonish FL GOP is doing an about face so quickly they are in a tailspin, yelling about NOT allowing FL parents to support their own transgender kids. No, parents don’t know anything, it must the state who owns all children and will make these parental decisions. Florida voters, haven’t we all seen and heard enough of the daily BS from this bunch of trumpist goons? The sooner everyone sees through their nonsense and votes them all out the door, the better our state will be!
Aluma says
DeSantis touts himself as a religious man of prayer but when he opens his mouth he strikes at LBGTQ+ citizens, women’s rights, gun safety, immigrants and their children, gerrymandered voters, college professors and other educators, scientists and Disney World. Every time I see his brutish face on my screen I think of Nina Simone’s Sinnerman. Hey Ron.You believe in your prayers. But where are you going to run to on your judgement day?
https://youtu.be/r57J0jPyZRs
Florida Voter says
Does anyone else see the absurdity in the line “… people under age 18 ‘should not be prescribed puberty blockers….'”?
Along with: Ladapo said. “Children experiencing gender dysphoria should be supported by family and seek counseling, not pushed into an irreversible decision before they reach 18.” — but he will force those same children to go through the irreversible changes of puberty. Also counseling frequently includes some forms of “social gender transition” (such as living as the identified gender), but that entirely reversible decision is contrary to his recommendation?
He’s taking the “Don’t Say Straight” bill to the next level. It’s no longer about “giving parents rights,” now it’s about removing parental rights. DeSantis leads the “Party of Contradictions.”