The Florida Department of Health is advising doctors not to provide gender-affirming surgery for children and teens.
In a statement Wednesday, the department said social transgender transition should not be a treatment option for children or adolescents as a result of the “lack of conclusive evidence, and the potential for long-term, irreversible effects.”
Additionally, the department advised doctors against prescribing puberty blockers or hormone therapy to anyone under 18.
Providing gender reassignment surgery as a treatment option is also discouraged.
“Children and adolescents should be provided social support by peers and family and seek counseling from a licensed provider,” the department said.
According to the department, the guidelines “do not apply to procedures or treatments for children or adolescents born with a genetically or biochemically verifiable disorder of sex development (DSD).”
Concluding the statement, the department explained, “The Department’s guidelines are consistent with the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services age requirement for surgical and non-surgical treatment. These guidelines are also in line with the guidance, reviews, and recommendations from Sweden, Finland, the United Kingdom, and France. Parents are encouraged to reach out to their child’s health care provider for more information.”
Read the statement below:
Today, the Florida Department of Health released guidance pushing back on @HHSGov unscientific shift in the treatment of gender dysphoria for children and adolescents.
— Florida Dept. of Health (@HealthyFla) April 20, 2022
The press release is available here: https://t.co/JsE4HcYOUD… pic.twitter.com/vmWQhBsaai
The statement comes less than a month after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed the Parental Rights in Education bill.
It prohibits teaching on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through 3rd grade.
“Parents’ rights have been increasingly under assault around the nation, but in Florida we stand up for the rights of parents and the fundamental role they play in the education of their children,” DeSantis said.
He added, “Parents have every right to be informed about services offered to their child at school, and should be protected from schools using classroom instruction to sexualize their kids as young as 5 years old.”