A bill banning transgender procedures for minors in Florida and restricting coverage of the interventions for adults cleared its first House committee Wednesday morning.
Testimony and debate were emotional on both sides of this issue.
Republicans argued that medical interventions are akin to child abuse, while Democrats and members of the LGBTQ+ community argued they save lives.
Both shared statistics supporting their claims, but ultimately the numbers in the legislature stack in Republicans’ favor.
The proposal (HB 1421), approved in a 12-5 vote by the House Healthcare Regulatory Subcommittee, bans transgender hormone therapies and surgical procedures for minors and would result in a 3rd-degree felony for doctors who ignore the prohibition.
It also directly requires minors already receiving transgender treatments to end their care, or “detransition” by the end of the year - a provision Democratic lawmakers unsuccessfully attempted to amend out of the bill.
“As someone who encounters transgender minors on a day-to-day basis you will kill them if you force them to detransition,” warned Will Larkin, a Winter Park High School senior who is nonbinary and LGBTQ+ ally.
The bill would also prohibit people from changing the sex on their birth certificate, stop prisoners from receiving transgender care with taxpayer finances and ban insurers from covering the treatments for adults.
“We’re saying that other people don’t have to pay for it, which I think is a pretty reasonable statement to make,” said bill sponsor Representative Randy Fine (R-Palm Bay).
When questioned if the bill would restrict treatment or remove insurance coverage for breast cancer or mastectomy treatment, there was no response. The amendment does not specify if procedures would be affected by this ban.
READ: Senator proposes bill giving state “emergency jurisdiction” over custody of kids with trans parents
Equality Florida called the bill the most radical of the more than 400 bills targeting the LGBTQ+ community filed across the nation this year.
HB 1421 is an assault on medical freedom and will do immeasurable harm to transgender Floridians. The vile commentary spouted in today's hearing underscores the transphobic animus at the core of this legislation.
— Equality Florida (@equalityfl) March 22, 2023
This is cruelty being used as political currency. https://t.co/olTyzoyVv5
“This is sweeping. It is extreme and we need adults in the room to say enough is enough, this cannot be who the State of Florida is,” said Equality Florida’s Joe Saunders.
Republicans argued the legislation aims to protect children from what they labeled as experimental procedures they believe do more harm than good.
“These children are actually victims, once called patients because we allowed ideology to mascaraed as medicine,” said State Representative Dean Black (R-Yulee).
However, gender-affirming health care for transgender individuals is supported by most major accredited medical organizations. Proponents of the treatment argue that it is medically necessary, effective and safe.
Florida is among a number of Republican-led states considering or passing policies to restrict medical treatment for children diagnosed with gender dysphoria and to make it more difficult for trans adults to obtain care.
The bill still has one more stop in the House and is set to get its final committee hearing in the Senate Thursday.
It will then be teed up for votes on the House and Senate floors.
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