I am writing to you today to urge the Florida State Board of Medicine to reject rule 64B8-9.019 and the Florida State Board of Osteopathic Medicine to reject rule 64B15-14.014. Both proposed rules cover Standards of Practice for the Treatment of Gender Dysphoria in Minors, to restrict access to gender-affirming healthcare.
Care providers, doctors, and leading medical associations have been clear that gender-affirming care is safe, effective, evidence-based, and lifesaving.
The nation’s leading health organizations support gender-affirming care for transgender and gender non-conforming people, including the American Academy of Pediatrics; the American Medical Association; The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; The American College of Physicians; The American Psychiatric Association; The American Psychological Association; The American Academy of Family Physicians; The Endocrine Society; The Pediatric Endocrine Society; American Nurses Association; American Public Health Association; American Heart Association; National Association of Social Workers; World Medical Association; and The World Professional Association for Transgender Health, among others.
There is overwhelming evidence to support the positive mental health impacts of gender-affirming medical care for transgender adolescents - including in some of the very studies cited by the DOH and Board of Medicine. Prohibiting social transition is clear government intrusion on personal and parental decision-making. Numerous studies have found that after social transition, transgender youth report similar mental health levels to the general youth population, eliminating mental health disparities typically seen. When transgender youth are affirmed by people around them, reported rates of depression and suicidality drop significantly. This rule will deny them this life-saving treatment.
The Florida State Board of Medicine and the Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine must reject proposed policies like these that are not grounded in science and research and are clearly based on prejudice and political agendas. The evidence is clear: denying transgender youth the ability to access critical healthcare is dangerous and life-threatening.
I urge you to reject these rules.