Today, the Florida Board of Medicine and Board of Osteopathic Medicine both approved a rule that would prohibit minors in the state from receiving puberty blockers, taking cross-sex hormones, and mutilating surgery to remove healthy male or female organs.

The Board of Osteopathic Medicine passed an exception that minors currently taking puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones would be allowed to continue if they were part of an Institutional Review Board approved clinical trial at a university affiliated center. However, medical doctors can no longer prescribe these hormones for minors for clinical trials.

During the public comment period, several people shared their “de-transitioning” experiences and noted the irreversible effects of these procedures. Parents testified that they were told there were no options other than these drugs for their children who were struggling with gender confusion. Minors were also given the drugs without parental permission. 

The Board of Medicine first began the process of drafting the rule in August following a request from state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo to devise rules to block medical professionals from providing such treatments for youth.