Florida medical boards vote to prohibit gender-affirming care for minors

ORLANDO, Fla. — Two state medical boards voted Friday to prohibit gender-affirming treatment for patients in Florida under the age of 18, despite warnings from some parents and practitioners that the ban will harm transgender youth.

The decision by the Florida Board of Medicine and the Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine to prohibit puberty blockers, cross-hormonal treatment and gender-affirming surgery as methods to treat gender dysphoria in minors followed a pair of acrimonious public meetings in Orlando.

Even as they approved the ban on Friday, the boards differed on whether to grant an exception for gender-affirming treatment under research purposes.

The Board of Medicine did not support the research exception, while allowing treatment for minors who are already undergoing gender-affirming care. The Board of Osteopathic Medicine voted to allow such treatment in cases involving clinical trials and research.

Carly Sittig, a 35-year-old transgender woman, attended the meeting to advocate for gender-affirming care. She said hormone replacement therapy was not an option she was younger, leaving her with only three options: Deal with dysphoria, dream of being a girl — or death.

“You’re signing a death sentence for some of these children and we cannot allow that,” Sittig said.

Megan Holleran, a licensed clinical mental health counselor, said she attended the meeting to vow for the positive impact that gender-affirming care has on patients struggling psychologically.

“I’ve literally witnessed my clients become happier, healthier individuals as a result of gender-affirming care,” she said.

Holleran said she worried the boards’ decision will directly impact the rate of suicide ideation among those dealing with gender dysphoria, which is a form of distress suffered by those whose gender identity doesn’t match their biological sex.

“It feels like something that’s being stripped away from the community, like a trans-genocide,” she said.

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