On Friday October 28th members of the Florida Board of Medicine appointed by DeSantis will draft a new rule likely to ban gender-affirming care for trans & gender-diverse youth throughout the state. The Board may also impose new restrictions for adults despite hundreds of groups condemning these actions. Gender-affirming care refers to a range of supports that affirm a patient's gender identity such as pubertal suppression for minors, hormonal & surgical treatments & access to social transition. Providers in Florida who administer this care already follow robust guidelines set forth by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). Legal experts suggest that restricting or banning access for gender-diverse patients could be considered discriminatory & even unconstitutional as the new rule would not impede access for cisgender patients seeking some of these same treatments for conditions such as precocious puberty, PCOS & gynecomastia. Hundreds of organizations, groups, public officials, spiritual leaders & healthcare professionals signed on to an open letter opposing the Florida Board of Medicine’s politically-motivated meddling in gender-affirming care. They wrote: “Governor Ron Desantis’ hand-picked appointees on the Board of Medicine initiated these proceedings as one of several policy attacks on LGBTQ+ people in Florida.” The letter also condemns the Florida Board of Medicine’s handling of last August 5th's meeting in Broward County that ended public comment early & without explanation silencing dozens of trans Floridians, family members & allies who had waited hours to speak about the importance of protecting access to gender-affirming care. Several trans & non-binary Floridians denied the opportunity to speak at the meeting co-authored the letter stating, “We won’t be silenced & we won’t be silent.”
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