Florida's medical boards are moving closer to banning gender-affirming healthcare for minors — drafting a rule to nix puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgeries for under-18 transgender youth.
A joint committee of the Florida Board of Medicine and state Board of Osteopathic Medicine voted on the move last week — and will meet again Friday on the issue, The Hill reported.
The boards' members were appointed by GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has criticized doctors who provide such care to kids, accusing them of "disfiguring" children and stating they should be sued, The Hill noted.
The Florida crackdown has been underway for months.
Florida's Board of Medicine first met in August after state health officials filed a petition to create a new standard of care for transgender youth.
The petition argued minors don't have the "cognitive or emotional maturity" to comprehend the consequences of gender-affirming medical care.
States including Arkansas, Alabama, and Arizona have all passed laws prohibiting certain types of gender-affirming care for minors — and have made similar arguments, The Hill reported.
But Florida's Board of Medicine is the first to consider drafting a rule to ban care for transgender youth — and has taken other steps to create additional barriers for both transgender youth and adults seeking treatment, The Hill reported.
Using the state Health Department's guidance, Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration in June published a notice for a proposed rule to eliminate coverage for gender-affirming healthcare for transgender residents.
The AHCA in August enacted a rule prohibiting transgender Floridians from using Medicaid to help cover the cost of transgender care for minors, The Hill noted — though the move could be a violation of the Affordable Care Act banning discrimination on the basis of sex.
Educators in Florida have also been restricted on teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity, The Hill reported — and Florida's Board of Education has approved a rule restricting transgender kids from using facilities based on their gender identity.
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