Helen Santoro | (TNS) KFF Health News
A judge has issued a preliminary injunction preventing the enforcement of a new Florida law that makes it a felony for doctors to provide gender-affirming care to transgender minors. The injunction applies to three children whose parents are part of an ongoing lawsuit against the law. Florida is one of 20 states that have enacted similar legislation to restrict gender-affirming treatment for minors. The legislators sponsoring these bills claim that their intention is to protect children and families from receiving potentially harmful medical interventions.
However, these laws and the justifications behind them are based on misconceptions and misinformation. They fail to recognize the importance of gender-affirming care for trans youth. Gender-affirming care is a broad term that encompasses various treatments provided to children, teenagers, and adults. It includes puberty blockers, which suppress the body’s production of sex hormones to delay the onset of puberty, and hormone therapy, which involves administering testosterone or estrogen to modify secondary sex characteristics.
Contrary to popular belief, gender-affirming medical interventions are not provided indiscriminately to any trans or nonbinary child who walks into a gender clinic. The process involves a thorough assessment to diagnose gender dysphoria and determine the individual’s unique needs. This assessment is conducted in accordance with the standards of care set by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. It ensures that any underlying mental health issues are detected and prioritized before proceeding with medical interventions.
The timeline for this assessment varies from patient to patient. Some individuals may present with a clear transgender identity at a young age, while others may require more time to understand their gender identity. The age at which trans minors receive gender-affirming hormone therapy depends on their ability to provide informed consent, which can happen as early as 12 or 13 years old. The goal is to provide support and treatment when patients and their families are ready.
It’s crucial for healthcare professionals to have ongoing conversations about consent with both the child and their parents throughout the treatment process. Patients must also be aware that they can stop taking hormones at any time. While some physical changes brought about by hormone therapy are reversible, others are not. This should be taken into consideration when making decisions about surgeries, which typically require additional documentation and the individual to be at least 18 years old.
There is a lot of misinformation surrounding puberty blockers, with some claiming they are dangerous and lead to infertility. However, it’s important to note that puberty blockers are fully reversible medications that act as a pause button on puberty. Fertility may be compromised if a person transitions directly from puberty blockers to hormone therapy, which is why fertility counseling is required prior to undergoing gender-affirming medical care.
Multiple studies have shown the positive mental health outcomes associated with gender-affirming care. Trans individuals who received puberty blockers during adolescence had lower rates of suicidal thoughts compared to those who wanted puberty blockers but didn’t receive them. Gender-affirming hormone therapy during adolescence also led to more favorable mental health outcomes. Furthermore, young patients who underwent puberty blockers or hormone therapy had significantly lower rates of depression, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts.
It’s important to dispel the misinformation that claims providers of gender-affirming care are permanently harming vulnerable children. Denying access to this care is what truly harms transgender and gender-diverse kids. Gender-affirming care is not a new concept; it’s the attacks on this care that are new and detrimental.
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(KFF Health News, formerly known as Kaiser Health News (KHN), is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs of KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.)
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