The Endocrine Society rejects the Florida Board of Medicine's decision to ban gender-affirming care

The Endocrine Society rejects the Florida Board of Medicine's decision to ban gender-affirming care

The Endocrine Society rejects the Florida Board of Medicine's decision to ban gender-affirming care for transgender and gender diverse teens.

We call on the Florida Board of Medicine to lift the ban and allow physicians to provide evidence-based care and protect the lives of minors.

Florida's ban is blatantly discriminatory and contradicts medical evidence followed by the Endocrine Society, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, the Pediatric Endocrine Society and other established medical organizations.

If a person's gender identity is not respected and they do not have access to medical care, this can lead to higher psychological problem scores and increase the person's risk of committing suicide or other acts of self-harm. Research has shown that denial of access to puberty-delaying medications and/or hormone therapy increases the risk of suicidal ideation and self-harm.

According to the Endocrine Society's globally recognized evidence-based Clinical Practice Guidelines, only reversible puberty delay treatments are recommended for adolescents. Puberty-delaying medications are safe, reversible, and the conservative approach that gives teens and their families more time to explore their options. The same treatment has been used to treat precocious puberty for decades.

Teens who continue to demonstrate gender incongruence and who demonstrate the ability to give informed consent may be offered gender-affirming hormone therapy, which is partially reversible. Florida's Medicaid ban prevents teens from accessing these important treatment options.

Medical evidence, not politics, should inform treatment decisions. The Endocrine Society submitted comments on the board's guidelines for "treating gender dysphoria in children and adolescents" during the abbreviated public comment period earlier this year, but the Florida Board of Health chose to rely on controversial research not recognized by the mainstream medical community. As a result, the state has transgender residents prevented from receiving gender-affirming care through Medicaid coverage.

Twenty states have proposed legislation to restrict access to care during the 2022 legislative session, according to Freedom for All Americans. The Endocrine Society is alarmed that misinformation about the medical care recommended for transgender and gender diverse youth is fueling efforts to limit access to gender-affirming care. The Florida Board of Health's move to ban gender-affirming care based on a political agenda rather than science sets a dangerous precedent for all health care decisions.

Source:

The endocrine society

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