Gov. Ron DeSantis Says He Would ‘Ban’ ‘Gender Transition’ Procedures for Minors

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis affirmed he would ban “gender transition” surgeries for minors during a Monday podcast.

“I would ban the sex change, the operations,” DeSantis told Fox News contributor and journalist Lisa Boothe during a Monday episode of her podcast.

She had asked if he would take Florida Department of Health guidelines, which already recommend against so-called gender transition, a step further by supporting a state law to ban such procedures.

Gov. Ron DeSantis says he would support law banning gender transition surgeries on children https://t.co/NklMdGbNLj

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LifeSiteNews reported:

DeSantis continued, pointing out, “You can’t get a tattoo if you’re 12 years old. When they say ‘gender-affirming care,’ what they mean, a lot of times, is you are really … castrating a young boy, you’re sterilizing a young girl, you’re doing mastectomies for these very young girls.”

He also highlighted the fact that 80 percent of gender dysphoria cases “resolve themselves” as children grow older, as a study published in the International Review of Psychiatry and cited by the Florida Department of Health notes.

“You’re doing things that are permanently altering them, and then they’re not gonna be able to reverse that, and so I don’t think it’s appropriate for kids at all,” he added.

In April, the Florida Department of Health issued a press release on gender dysmorphia, which spoke out against transgender treatments for children.

Systematic reviews on hormonal treatment for young people show a trend of low-quality evidence, small sample sizes, and medium to high risk of bias. A paper published in the International Review of Psychiatry states that 80% of those seeking clinical care will lose their desire to identify with the nonbirth sex. One review concludes that “hormonal treatments for transgender adolescents can achieve their intended physical effects, but evidence regarding their psychosocial and cognitive impact is generally lacking.”

According to the Merck Manual, “gender dysphoria is characterized by a strong, persistent crossgender identification associated with anxiety, depression, irritability, and often a wish to live as a gender different from the one associated with the sex assigned at birth.”

Due to the lack of conclusive evidence, and the potential for long-term, irreversible effects, the Department’s guidelines are as follows:

• Social gender transition should not be a treatment option for children or adolescents.

• Anyone under 18 should not be prescribed puberty blockers or hormone therapy.

• Gender reassignment surgery should not be a treatment option for children or adolescents.

o Based on the currently available evidence, “encouraging mastectomy, ovariectomy,
uterine extirpation, penile disablement, tracheal shave, the prescription of hormones which are out of line with the genetic make-up of the child, or puberty blockers, are all clinical practices which run an unacceptably high risk of doing harm.”

• Children and adolescents should be provided social support by peers and family and seek
counseling from a licensed provider.