On Nov. 4, the Florida Board of Medicine and Board of Osteopathic Medicine voted to ban gender-affirming care for minors. 

This rule limits treatments for individuals under 18 experiencing gender dysphoria in Florida. Once the decision is approved, doctors can no longer provide gender-affirming treatment to minors. Additionally, medical professionals who disregard this regulation are at risk of losing their medical licenses.  

The approval of this rule will prohibit puberty blockers, gender-affirming surgery, hormones and cross-hormone therapy for youth. However, this decision will not affect minors who are currently receiving treatment.

On Aug. 21, Florida joined eight other states in barring transgender individuals from paying for gender-affirming treatment through Medicaid. Before these decisions, Florida’s Surgeon General, Joseph Ladapo released a memo advising healthcare workers against providing gender-affirming care to minors. After prohibiting Medicaid to insure transgender care, Florida advanced on restricting access to these treatments. 

Once this ban goes into effect, Florida will become the first state to ban gender-affirming care for minors set in motion by a state medical board.