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Florida Department of Health Challenges White House On ‘Irreversible’ Trans Treatments For Children

   DailyWire.com
(Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

The Florida Department of Health issued guidance Wednesday taking a stand against “irreversible” transgender treatments for children, warning that such procedures present an “unacceptably high risk of doing harm.”

Gender reassignment surgery, puberty blockers, and hormone therapy should not be treatment options for either children or adolescents, according to the guidance, which repeatedly refers to their “potentially irreversible consequences.”

“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,'” the guidance said.

Rather, the guidance notes, “children and adolescents should be provided social support by peers and family and seek counseling from a licensed provider.”

The department’s guidance uses the “most up-to-date scientific data available, and it prioritizes the overall health and well-being of Florida’s children and adolescents,” the Florida Department of Health said in a press release.

That press release notes that countries like Sweden, Finland, France, and the United Kingdom are “currently reviewing, reevaluating, stopping, or advising caution on the treatment of gender dysphoria in children and adolescents.”

“The federal government’s medical establishment releasing guidance failing at the most basic level of academic rigor shows that this was never about health care,” State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo said in a statement.

“It was about injecting political ideology into the health of our children,” he continued. “Children experiencing gender dysphoria should be supported by family and seek counseling, not pushed into an irreversible decision before they reach 18.”

According to the Florida Department of Health, “current evidence does not support the use of puberty blockers, hormone treatments, or surgical procedures for children and adolescents.”

The guidance draws on a recently released White House messaging claiming that “early” transgender surgeries, hormone treatment, and affirmations are “crucial” for the health of kids and teens who identify as transgender and nonbinary.

“Gender-affirming care is a supportive form of healthcare,” a messaging sheet from the office of the assistant secretary for health says. “It consists of an array of services that may include medical, surgical, mental health, and non-medical services for transgender and nonbinary people.”

Gender-affirming care is a phrase used by transgender activists and media to mask the more grisly sounding transgender top and bottom surgeries, including removing a biological women’s breasts, removing a biological man’s genitals, sculpting a fake penis on a biological woman, facial feminization or facial masculinization, and more.

Social affirmation, puberty blockers, and hormones also fall under the “gender-affirming care” umbrella.

“For transgender and nonbinary children and adolescents, early gender-affirming care is crucial to overall health and well-being as it allows the child or adolescent to focus on social transitions and can increase their confidence while navigating the healthcare system,” the White House messaging said.

Transgender surgeries, hormones, and affirmations are necessary, the White House claimed, because these procedures have been “shown to increase positive outcomes for transgender and nonbinary children and adolescents.”

“Gender-affirming care is patient-centered and treats individuals holistically, aligning their outward, physical traits with their gender identity,” the White House messaging sheet continued.

The Florida Department of Health guidance notes that 80% of those seeking clinical care will ultimately lose their desire to identify with a sex not aligned with their birth.

It also highlights “the importance of puberty to brain development, with the pre-frontal cortex (which is responsible for executive functions, such as decision making) continuing to develop until Department's guidance is available hereapproximately 25 years of age.”

Similarly, the department emphasizes that trans procedures may have “irreversible consequences,” including but not limited to “cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, infertility, increased cancer risk, and thrombosis.”

“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,” the guidance said. “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,'” the guidance continued.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Wire.

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