TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — As soon as the gavel dropped at the Florida Capitol Thursday, the clock was running out to get a bill banning gender dysphoria treatments for trans youth to the governor’s desk.
After bouncing back and forth between the chambers, the latest version of the bill passed would restrict all Florida minors from receiving sex-reassignment prescriptions and procedures.
“I don’t think there’s any disagreement on the idea that children in Florida should not be able to get these mutilating surgeries and should not be able to get these castrating drugs,” the House bill’s sponsor, State Rep. Randy Fine (R-Palm Bay) said.
Democrats have taken issue with the bill in its entirety since it was filed, many have called it the most extreme ban in the country. “For many who receive this care it is essential to their well being,” State Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando) said.
The House sponsor continues to fiercely question the science behind the treatments. That’s despite numerous medical organizations backing them, including the American Medical Association, the Endocrine Society and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
“This isn’t science. This is some sort of cult and we’re gonna stop it in Florida,” Fine said.
Now the bill is headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis who is expected to sign it. Florida’s Board of Osteopathic Medicine will have 60 days after the bill is signed into law to make a rule which would clear up what happens next for minors who are already receiving the treatment.