Bill Gives Florida "Emergency Jurisdiction" Over Trans Kids In Custody Disputes, Targets Adult Care

A bill in Florida, SB254, has been amended to give the state emergency jurisdiction over trans kids in custody disputes.

A bill in Florida, SB 254, was amended today to include terrifying language targeting transgender children, their parents, and transgender adults. This bill mandates that doctors provide transgender adults with an "informed consent form" containing significant misinformation about gender-affirming care. It stipulates that trans adults must receive care from physicians, rather than nurse practitioners, considerably restricting one of the most common ways gender-affirming care is prescribed. The legislation would also ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors.

Perhaps most frightening is the provision granting the state "temporary emergency jurisdiction" over custody disputes involving transgender children and labeling gender-affirming care as "serious physical harm." This alarming aspect could allow a parent to violate a custody order and raises concerns about potential implications in child abuse cases.

See the provision here:

Section giving temporary emergency jurisdiction to Florida.

It is important to emphasize that the definition mentioned above specifically applies to child custody disputes. These provisions could come into play when one parent affirms a trans child's gender identity while the other does not. Even more alarming, if a parent with full custody from out of state has an active child custody order, a non-custodial parent in Florida could take emergency custody under this law, potentially forcing transgender youth to detransition.

The implications of this legislation could extend to even darker actions against transgender youth. By defining gender-affirming care as "serious physical harm," it may give Florida officials reason to treat transgender youth as "abused" and could be weaponized against parents of trans youth. Although the definition legally applies only to child custody disputes under Florida statute, the state's child abuse provisions regarding "harm" could be reinterpreted to include gender-affirming care, citing this legislation as justification. A similar move occurred in Texas last year when Governor Greg Abbott reinterpreted existing child abuse laws to encompass gender-affirming care. Should this bill become law, it could provide Florida officials even more cover than Texas had for such an authoritarian action.

Other sections of this provision target transgender adults. In a move similar to abortion disinformation pamphlets that some states have passed, this bill would require doctors to provide disinformation pamphlets on gender affirming care. It would also mandate that they follow 24 hour waiting periods. The form has disinformation such as “this care is experimental” and “the evidence that this may benefit mental health suicidality is low.” It also implies that the medication is physically and psychologically harmful. Lastly, it directs people to the AHCA site, which includes pseudoscientific reports from the Catholic Medical Association.

Here is the form as it was last proposed by the board of medicine:

A particularly harmful aspect of the bill is its targeting of transgender adults by limiting their access to care solely through physicians. Notably, a significant portion of gender-affirming care across the U.S. is provided by nurse practitioners. This model is utilized by many Planned Parenthood clinics and dozens of practices throughout Florida. By confining gender-affirming care to physicians alone, the state is poised to increase costs and create potentially insurmountable barriers for its residents seeking such care, including lengthy waitlists. In light of a recent bill proposing a ban on private insurance coverage for transgender adults, it is increasingly evident that Florida is moving from targeting trans youth to trans adults as well.

This bill is an example of the hundreds of anti-trans bills filed this cycle - 450 in total as of the time of this article. Transgender medical care is not experimental or controversial among medical providers and institutions. There exists strong evidence for a reduction in suicidality. The American public understands this, and that’s why in a recent public opinion poll, 64% of all Americans and even 55% of Republicans say there has been too much anti-trans legislation:

Data for Progress // Truthout

In summary, this bill stands as one of the most egregious anti-trans measures among any state. Florida persistently pushes the envelope in its attempts to target transgender individuals, with other states frequently following in its footsteps. Observing Florida's actions often foreshadows future legislative trends in other regions. Bills of this nature inflict both physical and psychological harm on an already vulnerable group that has been relentlessly targeted by extremist state legislatures across the U.S., prompting widespread public disapproval. Yet, Florida Republicans appear unfazed by public sentiment, as the bill is slated for a full floor vote in the Senate during its third reading in the near future.