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The board of medicine voted 6-3, with five others not present, on Friday to forbid doctors from prescribing puberty blockers and hormones or performing surgeries until a patient is 18. Exceptions will be made for children who are already receiving the treatment.
The Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine also voted to ban the use of puberty blockers and sex-reassignment surgery in new patients who are minors but allowed an exception for children enrolled in clinical studies.
Florida is also one of at least nine states that prohibits Medicaid coverage of gender-transition services.
"The chief point of agreement among all of the experts — and I must emphasize this — is that there is a pressing need for additional, high-quality clinical research," said the board of medicine's chair, Dr. David A. Diamond, a radiation oncologist.
More than 70 percent of children with gender dysphoria "typically outgrow" it, City Journal reported earlier this year.
A clinic that offered gender-transition services for children in England was closed down after NHS England found it was "not a safe or viable long-term option."
An investigation into the Tavistock clinic in London revealed that other mental health issues were "overshadowed" by gender concerns. Children who expressed gender dysphoria were often given puberty blockers. The U.K.'s health advisory board determined last year that there is "very low" evidence that blocking puberty in children with gender dysphoria is beneficial.
Comment: More on this story here:
- Tavistock gender clinic 'to be sued by 1,000 families'
- Finally: Tavistock gender clinic not safe for children, report finds
- UK mom sues Tavistock children's clinic over 'misleading' & 'experimental' gender change treatments
- Britain's first children's gender identity clinic - run by Tavistock Institute and NHS - hired lawyers to 'silence' book critical of gender-bender agenda
- England's only children's transgender clinic Tavistock to be shut down by NHS after review finds it is "not safe" for children
Psychiatrist David Bell, a whistleblower who raised concerns about the Tavistock clinic, has also called for a Scottish clinic that offers gender-transition services for children to be closed immediately.
"There are quite a lot of studies showing if these children are helped in a different way, with expert attention and gender neutrality, they give up their wish," he added. "A lot emerge as gay and lesbian young people . . . We want to celebrate gender fluidity, so people can keep their sex body but express their gender how they wish to."
He expressed concern about the use of puberty blockers, saying "it should be an extremely rare occurrence that you should block a child's puberty."
Comment: Florida is turning out to be a beacon of light in the USA. Governor Ron DeSantis and his administration are making great strides in the fight against transgender ideology and critical race theory. Furthermore, they were some of the first and only politicians to speak out against COVID-19 tyranny and implement counteractive measures to remain free from restrictions.