Florida issues Texas-like guidance seeking to ban transitional care for minors
Florida Department of Health issued tutorial Fourth, seek to ban both “social transsexual” and sex-affirming medical care for under-18s in the state.
The non-binding guidance, which does not change the law, comes as Republicans in dozens of states seek to ban sex-determined medical care for transgender youth.
The Health Department’s guidance, released by Governor Ron DeSantis and State Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo, goes further than most state bills that seek to limit access to certain medical care services. health issues related to transition, as it recommends no medical conversion for minors – including puberty blockers, hormone therapy and activity – and says “social sex changeover” should not be a treatment option for children or adolescents,” which other states generally do not say.
The guidelines say there is a lack of convincing evidence that claiming care for transgender youth has positive mental health outcomes and that it can have “irreversible effects.” The Department of Health also cites a 2015 article published in the International Journal of Psychiatry stating that 80% of “people seeking clinical health care will lose their desire for non-sexual identification. born”.
The Department of Health said the guidance was promoted by a flyer The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a statement last month, which said early sex-affirming care “is critical to the overall health and well-being” of children and young people. transgender youth, “because it allows children or adolescents to focus on social transitions and can boost their confidence while navigating the health care system. “
Ladapo criticized the federal government’s guidance in a statement Wednesday, saying it failed “at the most academically rigorous level” and as a result it was “never about caregiving.” health.”
“It’s about injecting political ideology into the health of our children,” Ladapo said. “Children experiencing gender dysphoria should have family support and seek counseling, and not be pushed into an irreversible decision before they turn 18.”
The backlash to the guidance from LGBTQ advocates has been swift. Sam Ames, director of advocacy and government affairs for Project Trevor, an LGBTQ youth suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization, notes that all recognized medical associations are involved. All agencies support gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth.
Ames also said in a statement that in another release Regarding federal government guidance Wednesday, the Florida Department of Health selectively cited Project Trevor’s 2021 peer-reviewed study that examined hormone therapy among more than 9,000 transgender youth. gender and non-binary. Ames said the Department of Health “ignored that receiving this sex-affirming care was associated with a lower incidence of recent depression and a recent year lower likelihood of suicide among under-18s in recent years.” 40%.”
Dr. Jack Turban, a psychiatrist at Stanford University School of Medicine who studies the mental health of transgender youth, say on Twitter that “the broad medical consensus disagrees with every aspect of this memo from the Florida Department of Health.”
He quotes Research 2016 showed that young adults who undergo social transition have favorable mental health outcomes. He say There are also 16 studies related to sex-affirmative health care for transgender youth and that “mostly there is an improvement in mental health with these interventions”.
Turban criticized statistics cited by the Department of Health to assert that most young people come to have their sex determined at birth, saying it “is false and is based on pre-pubescent children who are not qualified enough.” condition for sex-affirming medical intervention according to current guidelines.”
He added that gender-affirmative health care for transgender youth “has been politicized in a pathetic way.”
“Decisions in this area should be made by doctors and families, not politicians without expertise in the field,” he said. “We should be following Endocrine Society guidelines, not political nonsense.”
Three states – Arkansas, Tennessee and Alabama – have enacted restrictions on sex-determined medical care for minors. A federal judge blocked Arkansas law in Julyand Alabama’s not yet in effect.
Sarah Lovenheim, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services, also released a statement about Florida’s guidance in a tweet.
“We are committed to protecting young Americans targeted because of sexual orientation or gender identity, and supporting their parents, carers, and families,” she said.
Daniel Tilley, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, said in a statement that while Florida’s guidance is “non-binding” and not currently in force, we know the impact will cause fear among transgender youth, their parents, and service providers. take care of their health.”
Some advocates also fear that DeSantis, who is widely seen as a potential candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, could use the guidelines in a similar way to state officials. state in Texas.
In February, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton give a non-binding legal opinion that said, providing sex-affirming medical care to transgender minors is considered child abuse under state law, even though the law itself does not change the law. Governor Greg Abbott then directs the state Child Protective Services agency to investigate child abuse complaints filed against parents suspected of providing such care to their transgender children. State Judge Temporarily blocked the investigation last month.
at Blogtuan.info – Source: nbcnews.com – Read the original article here
