Florida is on track to become the fourth US state to ban gender transition procedures for children.
The State’s Boards of Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine have voted to ban minors from obtaining puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and gender transition surgeries.
Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo said it would protect children from irreversible surgeries and highly experimental treatments.
He added that “Florida will continue to fight for kids to be kids.”
The Christian Post reports Alabama, Arizona and Arkansas have already banned gender transition surgeries for minors and Tennessee is also set to follow suit.
Leaders in other states have expressed opposition to allowing trans-identified youth to seek surgical intervention.
Recent polling suggests American voters are less likely to support political candidates who are in favour of allowing children to obtain gender transition treatments whose side effects remain a cause for concern.
The conservative American College of Pediatricians which describes itself as a “national organisation of pediatricians and other healthcare professionals dedicated to the health and well-being of children” identified the potential side effects of puberty blockers as “osteoporosis, mood disorders, seizures, cognitive impairment and, when combined with cross-sex hormones, sterility.”
it listed the potential side effects of cross-sex hormones as “an increased risk of heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, blood clots and cancers across their lifespan.”
Supporters of “gender-affirming care” for minors with gender dysphoria say the failure to provide such care will negatively affect their mental health.
The American Academy of Pediatrics opposes policies that it says would “discriminate against gender-diverse individuals, including children and adolescents, or limit access to comprehensive evidence-based care.”
