Florida medical boards approve ban on gender treatments for minors

Florida’s two medical boards have approved a rule banning puberty blockers and other gender transition treatments for minors.

At a joint meeting on Friday, the Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine voted to approve the rule with the Florida Board of Medicine, which had already preliminarily approved it.

The proposal bans doctors in the state from providing certain types of gender treatments, including puberty blockers, hormone treatments and sex change operations, for anyone under the age of 18.

“Today, the Boards of Medicine & Osteo Medicine voted to protect our children from irreversible surgeries & highly experimental treatments,” Florida Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo tweeted. “I appreciate their integrity for ruling in the best interest of FL children 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.”

The Florida Board of Medicine had been working to codify guidance issued in April by the Florida Department of Health that advised against such gender transition “care” due to the lack of conclusive evidence regarding the treatments, as well as the potential for “long-term, irreversible effects.” 

In June, Florida’s Agency for Healthcare Administration issued a report in support of the guidance. An agency spokesperson told Fox News it “found several services for the treatment of gender dysphoria promoted by the federal government – i.e., sex reassignment surgery, cross-sex hormones, and puberty blockers – are not consistent with widely accepted professional medical standards, and are experimental and investigational with the potential for harmful long-term effects.” 

During the joint meeting Friday, the Florida Board of Medicine listened to testimony from medical experts on the controversial topic, and considered public comments. 

Dr. Michael Laidlaw, an endocrinologist from California, testified that research found 50% to 90% of children who experience gender dysphoria grow out of it as adults, NBC News reports.  

“The basic problem with this treatment as I see it is: What happens when you force a square peg into a round hole?” he asked. “You end up injuring or destroying the peg in the process.” 

Chloe Cole, 18, a biological female who has “detransitioned,” argued during her public comment that mental health treatment is a better course than puberty blockers and surgeries. She told the board her transition to male began at 12 and she underwent a double mastectomy at 15. A year later, she regretted her transition, she said.  

“All the talk about mental health, self-perception, pronouns and ideology leads me to the question: Why is a mental health epidemic not being addressed with mental health treatment to get at the root causes for why female adolescents like me want to reject their bodies?” Cole asked. 

The two boards disagreed at the meeting on whether to exempt minors whose treatment has already begun – the medical board voting to strike an exemption from the rule, with the osteopathic board voting to keep the exemption, according to a news report. As a result, MDs and DOs may be regulated slightly differently.