Author: The Endocrine Society
Author Contact: endocrine.org
Published: 5th Nov 2022
Peer-Reviewed Publication: N/A
Additional References: Transgender News Publications
Summary: Anti-science rule threatens to harm transgender and gender-diverse minors; sets a dangerous precedent for all health care decisions.
Gender-affirming care, as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), encompasses a range of social, psychological, behavioral, and medical interventions "designed to support and affirm an individual's gender identity" when it conflicts with the gender they were assigned at birth. The interventions help transgender people align various aspects of their lives - emotional, interpersonal, and biological - with their gender identity. For transgender and nonbinary children and adolescents, early gender-affirming care is crucial to overall health and well-being as it allows the child or adolescent to focus on social transitions and can increase their confidence while navigating the healthcare system.
Transgender people may seek one of several gender-affirming interventions, including hormone therapy, surgery, facial hair removal, interventions for the modification of speech and communication, and behavioral adaptations such as genital tucking or packing or chest binding.
Gender-affirming surgeries are also available to transgender people. These include surgeries specific to gender affirmation and procedures commonly performed in non-transgender populations.
However, gender-affirming hormone therapy is the primary medical intervention sought by transgender people. Such treatment allows the acquisition of secondary sex characteristics more aligned with an individual's gender identity.
The Endocrine Society rebukes the Florida Board of Medicine's decision to ban gender-affirming care for transgender and gender-diverse teenagers. We call on the Florida Board of Medicine to reverse the ban and allow physicians to provide evidence-based care and protect the lives of minors.
The Florida 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 mainstream medical organizations.
Endocrinologists are at the core of solving the most pressing health problems of our time, from diabetes and obesity to infertility, bone health, and hormone-related cancers. The Endocrine Society is the world's oldest and largest organization of scientists devoted to hormone research and physicians who care for people with hormone-related conditions.
When an individual's gender identity is not respected, and they cannot access medical care, it can result in higher psychological problem scores. It can raise the person's risk of committing suicide or other acts of self-harm. Research has found denying access to puberty-delaying medication and/or hormone therapy raises the risk of suicidal ideation and self-harm.
According to the Endocrine Society's globally recognized evidence-based Clinical Practice Guidelines, only reversible treatments to delay puberty are recommended for adolescents. Puberty-delaying medication is safe, reversible, and the conservative approach that gives teenagers and their families more time to explore their options. The same treatment has been used for decades to treat precocious puberty.
Teenagers who continue to demonstrate gender incongruence and the ability to provide informed consent can be offered gender-affirming hormone therapy, which is partially reversible. The Florida Medicaid ban prevents teenagers from accessing these important treatment options.
Medical evidence, not politics, should inform treatment decisions. The Endocrine Society submitted comments earlier this year during the abbreviated public comment period on the Board's guidance on treating gender dysphoria for children and adolescents. Yet, the Florida Board of Health opted to rely on controversial research not recognized by the mainstream medical community in crafting its ban on gender-affirming care. Consequently, the state blocked transgender residents from receiving gender-affirming care through Medicaid coverage.
Twenty states have proposed legislation to limit access to care during the 2022 legislative session, according to Freedom for All Americans. The Endocrine Society is alarmed that misinformation about medical care recommended for transgender and gender-diverse adolescents fuels efforts to limit access to gender-affirming care. The move by the Florida Board of Health to ban gender-affirming care based on a political agenda rather than on science sets a dangerous precedent for all healthcare decisions.
Florida to Ban Gender Affirming Care | The Endocrine Society (endocrine.org). SexualDiversity.org makes no warranties or representations in connection therewith. Content may have been edited for style, clarity or length.
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• (APA): The Endocrine Society. (2022, November 5). Florida to Ban Gender Affirming Care. SexualDiversity.org. Retrieved October 16, 2024 from www.sexualdiversity.org/news/transgender/1061.php
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