Florida bans gender transitioning for under 18s: How it benefits children & adults alike

A new regulation in Florida that prevents minors from undergoing gender transitioning procedures has been implemented.

Republican state legislators are planning to make the limitations even more stringent.

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Florida bans gender transitioning for under 18s

The measure, which went into effect on Thursday (March 16), was issued by the Florida Board of Medicine and prohibits the use of hormone therapies, puberty blockers or surgeries to treat gender dysphoria for anyone under the age of 18 in the state.

Although young people who had already started gender-affirming treatment before Thursday can continue, they're not permitted to undergo gender transitioning surgeries under the new regulations.

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Before the gender ban went into effect, Governor Ron DeSantis defended his stance after President Joe Biden had criticized Florida's new rule as "close to sinful" in an interview on "The Daily Show" earlier in the week.

The President expressed his disapproval, saying that it's not like a child wakes up one day and decides to change their gender. DeSantis, who's expected to run against Biden in 2024, responded by tweeting that it's not wrong to prevent minors from being mutilated.

He added that it's unacceptable for the federal government to require procedures like gender transitioning operations to be allowed for children.

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The Florida Board of Medicine and the Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine announced the new ban in November, which was met with opposition from transgender activists who claimed that it went against medical evidence.

During heated hearings, both supporters and opponents of the ban expressed their concerns. Dr. Hector Vila, a pediatric anesthesiologist and member of the Board of Medicine, maintained that "hundreds of studies" were reviewed in the decision-making process.

He added that the "overwhelming data does not support" the use of puberty blockers and hormone therapy. Vila also stressed that the board was not against research or care for transgender children.

Chairman of the Florida Board of Medicine, Scot Ackerman, said that the board's goal is to safeguard children from therapies that cause irreversible harm, and that the board still wants to provide care to these patients but with a limited set of therapies available.

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Several other states across the country are also enacting similar measures. On Thursday, Republican lawmakers in Kentucky passed new legislation with a large majority to prohibit gender-affirming care for transgender minors.

The new bill in Kentucky also contains extensive provisions that enable teachers to refuse to refer to transgender students by their preferred pronouns and forbid schools from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity with students of any age.

Supporters argue that they're attempting to safeguard children from undergoing gender-affirming treatments that they may regret as adults.

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Supporters argue that they're attempting to safeguard children from undergoing gender transitioning treatments, which they may regret as adults (Getty Images)

According to GOP Senator Lindsey Tichenor, the concern about gender transitioning treatments is that they involve the removal of healthy body parts that cannot be reattached.

Senator Tichenor expressed that she has seen disturbing pictures regarding this issue. In Mississippi, Republican governor Tate Reeves recently signed a bill prohibiting gender-affirming hormones or surgeries for individuals under the age of 18.

Additionally, Republican governors of South Dakota and Utah have also approved bans on gender-affirming care this year.