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by Laurel Powell •
Today, the Florida Department of Health released a statement, which it sent to licensed health and human services providers in the state of Florida, attacking the established standards of age-appropriate, medically-necessary, and often life-saving care for transgender youth. In response, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) condemned it as Gov. Ron DeSantis’s latest move to attack transgender and non-binary children and adolescents, only weeks after signing his widely-derided “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” bill into law.
In Texas, a non-binding legal opinion from that state’s attorney general was swiftly followed by instructions from the governor that resulted in families being investigated for supporting their transgender children in receiving age-appropriate, medically necessary care. This caused a tidal wave of resistance from parents, families, and business leaders, eventually leading to a lawsuit from the ACLU, Lambda Legal, and others. Alabama recently passed the first ever law to impose felony criminal penalties on medical professionals who offer evidence-based, age-appropriate, gender-affirming treatment to youth, which has also spurred lawsuits. Last year, the Arkansas legislature overrode the governor’s veto to enact a law that bans gender affirming care. That law is currently not in effect as a result of litigation.
For more information on how to report on issues pertaining to transgender people, please visit HRC’s Brief Guide to Getting Transgender Coverage Right. For more information on separating facts from disinformation when it comes to gender-affirming care, HRC has provided a fact sheet setting the record straight.
To make a general inquiry, please visit our contact page. Members of the media can reach our press office at: (202) 572-8968 or email press@hrc.org.
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