SAHM Member Testified on Gender-Affirming Care in Florida

SAHM member Dr. Meredithe McNamara testified before the Florida Board of Medicine on October 28, in opposition to a proposed measure to ban gender-affirming care for youth and to highlight the state’s flawed justifications for issuing such a ban. She testified at the invitation of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), alongside Dr. Aron Janssen (pediatric psychiatry at Lurie Children’s Hospital and SOC 8 author), and Dr. Kristin Dayton (pediatric endocrinology and director of the University of Florida’s gender program).

Recorded testimonies of subject matter experts are available. Dr. McNamara specifically highlighted the misinformation that justified this move, as part of her analysis of the state’s Agency of Healthcare Administration report, which was initially prepared to excuse the termination of Medicaid coverage of gender-affirming treatments this past September.
 
Members of the Board of Medicine voted to prohibit the future use of puberty blockers and gender-affirming hormones in those under the age of 18 who have not yet received this gender-affirming medical care. A 25-day comment period follows before the rule goes into full effect. Violation of this rule may incur loss of physician licensure. The Board of Osteopathic Medicine approved an exception for youth not yet in receipt of gender-affirming care to be allowed these treatments if they enroll in a “trial” but specifics and logistics of this process are not yet defined.

These measures are expected to be immediately challenged in litigation when they go into full effect. The testimony of Dr. McNamara and others has furnished the public record with true information about the evidence and safety on gender-affirming care and it will be noted that the Board of Medicine did not substantively respond to these points prior to issuing the rule.