Florida Bans Trans Teens From Gender Affirming Care
Florida Bans Trans Teens From Gender Affirming Care
What you need to know and ways you can fight back or care for your own trans youth in Florida.
On Friday, November 4th, Florida convened a medical board that was handpicked by Governor Ron DeSantis for the purpose of banning transgender teens from receiving gender affirming medical care. This care is universally recommended by all major medical organizations that serve this population. Ultimately, the bought and paid for board voted in favor of restricting this care - although the board of Osteopathy preserved an exception for research studies. This decision will now go through a weeks long approval process and will then become rules that all doctors in Florida must follow or risk sanction.
What you need to know if you have a trans kid in Florida:
(nothing in here is medical advice and should not be viewed as such, please discuss all of your concerns with your medical care team.)
Beginning treatment will preserve their rights. Although it is not entirely clear, generally the reporting on the decision has shown that those who obtain puberty blockers or hormone therapy prior to the rule going into effect will be able to maintain treatment. This means that if you get treatment now, they will likely be able to continue. This is not medical guidance - obviously speak to your own doctor if you are considering puberty blocking treatment for your trans youth. If you were on the fence about this, the securing of the right to continue treatment may play a factor in your decisionmaking. It is unfortunate that Florida is playing politics with the health of children but this is the reality we live in.
There are blockers that last much longer than the shots. In particular, the histrelin implants can last for up to two years or more under certain circumstances. This could be an important protection for transgender youth that are forced to end treatment - these laws do not mandate removal of implants and so this can buy families and patients significant time in fighting back against the anti-trans medical bans or extra time in finding a safe state or alternate source of obtaining medical care.
The guidance does not prevent research studies done by DOs. Currently organizations are almost certainly working on getting these research studies set up. Keep your eyes peeled for enrollment in the studies, which would be done under DO supervision likely at relevant local universities.
The guidance does not prevent you from going out of state. Many trans youth in other states that have banned hormone therapy or puberty blockers among trans youth made plans to go out of state to obtain their care. In this case, Georgia is likely to be the safest continual source of gender affirming care for trans youth, although the 2023 legislative cycle will likely be very difficult and Georgia is absolutely an at risk state.
There may be other legal ways to obtain gender affirming care. I will not detail those ways here. Contact local support networks who you trust to find out more information.
Prepare for the worst out of the 2023 legislative cycle. I have had Florida as “highest risk” on my legislative risk map for a while now. This decision is not ultimately surprising. Please continue to fight back any way that you can against these unjust laws that put the lives of trans teens at risk