In November, Florida medical boards passed a ban prohibiting physicians from providing gender-affirming care to patients under 18. The rule has not gone into effect yet, but some hospitals are already cutting services, the Tampa Bay Times reported Feb. 15.
The Florida Board of Medicine and Board of Osteopathic Medicine approved the restrictions Nov. 4, which allow them to revoke the license of any physician who offers minors puberty blockers, hormone therapy or surgeries as treatment for gender dysphoria. On Feb. 10, the board extended the ban to prohibit minors from participating in trials at state medical schools, where they could previously receive nonsurgical care.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis required all state universities that provide gender-affirming care to break down the number of people who sought "sex reassignment treatment" by age, and send the data to his office by Feb. 10.
A date has not been set for when the new rules will go into effect, but some Florida hospitals and health systems have already scaled back gender-affirming care, according to the newspaper:
1. Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg stopped taking new patients for hormone therapy late last year. The hospital still treats patients who were already receiving the therapy.
2. Nicklaus Children's Hospital in Miami stopped taking new patients at its gender program in August 2022.
3. Gainesville-based UF Health still accepts new patients to its youth gender program, but does not offer gender-affirming surgery to minors.