MIAMI – Florida’s Department of Health issued controversial guidelines on Wednesday when it comes to the care of transgender children.
It defies federal guidance and LGBTQ+ youth say the state has it all wrong.
The page of guidance from Florida’s health department has links and citations.
Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo refutes and opposes the recent federal guidelines about gender-affirming care for young people, like social affirmations of physical changes and hormone therapies, for what he and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration calls “political ideology.”
Those working for transgender equality accuse Florida’s health department of the same.
“Science isn’t just providing data but providing interpretation of data,” said D Ojeda with the National Center for Transgender Equality. “There’s a lot of biases that comes with designing research projects.”
This latest clash in health policy comes over gender dysphoria, which is defined as clinically significant distress that a person may feel when sex or gender assigned at birth is not the same as their identity.
For months, LGBTQ communities and supporters begged Florida lawmakers to consider them in decisions about education and healthcare, those efforts ultimately proving unsuccessful against Florida’s conservative majority with opposing perspectives.
This new guidance cites one source that suggests eight of ten children seeking help with gender changing care will essentially change their minds.
“There are just a lot of people who don’t have necessarily the right access or right information,” said Ojeda.